The lawyer responsible for defending SBF in the criminal trial admitted that the case was "virtually impossible" to win from the outset. In a one-on-one interview with Bloomberg, Stanford Law School professor David Mills recounted how Bankman-Fried's reluctance to follow his advice and scathing testimony from his former colleagues landed the FTX founder in hot water. The report also outlines how David Mills recommended that SBF's legal defense should admit the allegations made by witnesses and state prosecutors and try to convince the main jury that SBF intended to save the company from bankruptcy.

David Mills described the SBF as "the worst person I have ever seen conducting cross-examination". It was also revealed that at the request of the FTX CEO’s parents, he has agreed to lend his expertise to the defense of SBF. It is understood that David Mills is a close friend of Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried and took on the case for free.