drboom correctly inferred what I meant – people usually use quotes in the way that you did to suggest that they don’t necessarily agree with a description. Instead of putting the quotes in, you could also achieve the effect by putting the words “so-called” in front of the words ‘international expert.’ In any event – he is a bona fide international expert, quotes or not. You might be interested to see this NYT article about him entitled: The Probability that a Real-Estate Agent is Cheating You (and other Riddles of Modern Life)
