That's besides the point though. Consider the legal principle of "innocent until proven guilty" - a fundamental pillar of the justice system. It is not the job of a lawyer to determine whether a defendant is guilty or innocent; they are only responsible for presenting evidence and arguments to support their client's case. Ultimately, it is the judge or jury who must decide whether to convict or acquit. The whole process is designed to determine guilt. Requiring a lawyer to know whether their client is guilty in advance amounts to asking them to predict the outcome of that process, to foresee the future.
PS: I am not trying to defend SBF here and I hope that that any money linked to Alameda/FTX, including the money he sent to friends and family, is clawed back. But that's a separate issue.
> Consider the legal principle of "innocent until proven guilty" - a fundamental pillar of the justice system.
It's "innocent until proven guilty in a court of law". Not necessarily in your lawyer's office.
> Requiring a lawyer to know whether their client is guilty in advance amounts to asking them to predict the outcome of that process, to foresee the future.
No, that's a different thing. Requiring a lawyer to know the facts is not requiring the lawyer to know how the court will rule in the case.
Well, sure they can, unless you mean "guilty" in the sense of a court finding them guilty rather than in the sense that they actually committed the crime.
>Consider the legal principle of "innocent until proven guilty" - a fundamental pillar of the justice system.
Let's not put the cart before the horse. It's the law firms obligations to make sure they aren't participating in a crime, it has nothing to do with assuming someone's guilt.
That's different from "has a duty to ensure that the money used to pay them wasn't from the proceeds of a crime" though. If their client claims they're innocent, would they be clear because they don't know that their client is guilty?
the issue might be not the lawyers getting into trouble necessarily but for those fees to be confiscated. Why would you as a lawyer sign up to do all this work when there is a chance your fees will evaporate?
Actually yes, they are supposed to do that. Not because of money, but as they are preparing the defense.