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Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), have added their legal staff by recruiting former SEC attorney Teresa Goody Guillen. The action followed a presidential pardon to CZ, indicating a new regulatory advantage.
Guillen, a former candidate for SEC Chair under Trump, joined the exchange's advisory board earlier this year. According to publicly filed documents, Binance and Zhao have paid nearly $290,000 in legal fees to Guillena's law firm since February. Her background in securities law and corporate compliance provides Binance with a robust defense infrastructure as it navigates the changing US regulatory landscape.
The recruitment is an indication of what the company is doing to restore its trust and enhance compliance credibility, after it was the subject of extensive legal scrutiny. Guillen's appointment underscores how Binance is in the process of staying open to the regulators in the US while reinforcing its position in Washington.
The company, through Checkmate Government Relations, hired Trump ally and lobbyist Ches McDowell to lobby the white house and the Treasury. According to the paperwork, McDowell earned over $450,000 working in September alone. His company earned around $7.1 million in revenue last quarter, indicating that the lobbying business in Washington has been expanding at a very high rate.
McDowell is well-connected in the Trump administration, including having personal ties with Donald Trump Jr., which has granted Binance more influence in US politics. The pardon of Zhao by the executive, who was convicted of anti-money laundering crimes in October 2025, has been a challenge to the lobbying efforts.
In late 2024, after Trump named Paul Atkins as SEC Chair, the regulator reduced its enforcement actions against digital asset companies. In May 2025, the SEC voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit against Binance, which was filed in 2023, accusing the exchange of misusing customer funds and deceiving investors.
In 2023, Binance had already paid $4.3 billion in fines to the Department of Justice and the Treasury. Furthermore, Changpeng Zhao paid an additional $50 million and stepped down as the CEO. These developments suggest that Binance is taking calculated steps to recover through the use of experienced legal representation and lobbying.
