Defending the Indefensible? Sam Bankman-Fried’s Lawyers Deserve Better

Last week, during the first days of a trial that could extend six weeks, there was much rejoicing over the fact that SBF’s high-paid lawyers made an embarrassing initial showing. According to some estimates, District Judge Lewis Kaplan, a former prosecutor who is overseeing SBF’s case, rebutted 60% of attorney Christian Everdell’s questions during a cross-examination. At one point, former FTX dev (and longtime friend of SBF), Adam Yedidia, came right out and said he was ride or die for his former boss up until it became obvious SBF had “defrauded” his customers, a point that was stricken from the record but is impossible to forget.