Nemser added that he doubted Shleifer would be liable for anywhere near the $102 million the government could seek.

“We’re not in a world of big numbers,” he said. “What Professor Shleifer could be on the hook for would not be appreciable.”

Nemser and Ware both said they hoped the project’s successes would be weighed when considering damage awards.

“Professor Shleifer received great praise for the project,” Nemser said. “Against that background, it’s very hard that the government would be able to prove any damage at all—they certainly haven’t been able to come up with a theory of damage that has impressed anyone at this point.”

Woodlock is set to determine the future course of the case, including a potential trial on damages and unresolved claims, at the July hearing. While the parties could settle, Nemser said his team is not currently in talks with the government, although it has been at various points in the past.

The University has already settled a related civil fraud claim filed by Maine mutual fund company Forum Financial Group. Forum had alleged that Hay and the University deprived it of millions of dollars in profit from the rights to Russia’s first mutual funds firm.

The settlement was reached in November 2002 and its terms were undisclosed.

Dean of the Faculty William C. Kirby, who could consider disciplinary action against Shleifer, declined comment through spokesperson Robert Mitchell yesterday, citing the ongoing litigation.

University President Lawrence H. Summers, a close friend of Shleifer, testified in depositions released in summer 2002 that after his selection to lead the University, he urged then-Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles to keep Shleifer at Harvard.

“I expressed to Dean Knowles at some point that I was concerned to make sure that Professor Shleifer remained at Harvard,” Summers testified. “I felt that he made a great contribution to the economics department.”

He also said that there was a perception in the economics department “that Andrei was in some way or another being screwed.”

Summers has legally recused himself from the case and internal University considerations of the matter.

—Staff writer Stephen M. Marks can be reached at marks@fas.harvard.edu.