- Brad Karp resigned as Paul Weiss chairman on Thursday due to emails revealing his interactions with Jeffrey Epstein.
- Scott Barshay, known for major deals, replaced Karp as firm chairman, effective on Wednesday.
- Karp faced scrutiny for his Epstein ties; he remains at Paul Weiss serving clients.
WASHINGTON — Brad Karp, longtime chairman of the powerful Wall Street law firm Paul Weiss, resigned from his top leadership role after a series of emails revealed his extensive interactions with the late disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Karp was replaced by partner Scott Barshay, head of the corporate department, who has advised on blockbuster deals including Anheuser-Busch InBev's $107 billion takeover of SABMiller and Chevron's $55 billion acquisition of Hess, the firm said late Wednesday.
In a statement released by Paul Weiss, Karp said, "Recent reporting has created a distraction and has placed a focus on me that is not in the best interests of the firm." He will remain at the firm focused on serving clients, the firm said. He did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.
Karp came under scrutiny after emails released by the Department of Justice on Friday revealed his long-standing personal and business communications with Epstein, including months before authorities arrested the financier on sex trafficking charges in July 2019. Epstein later died by suicide in his Manhattan jail cell. Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to prostitution charges, including soliciting an underage girl.
Paul Weiss had said on Tuesday that Karp "regrets" his interactions with Epstein. Karp has not been accused of wrongdoing.
Karp, firm have been criticized for deal with Trump
Karp, who began his career at Paul Weiss in the early 1980s and had served as chairman of the firm since 2008, attended dinners with Epstein and sought his help getting his son a job with a Woody Allen film production, according to the firm and a Reuters review of emails that were among millions of documents the Justice Department released as part of the Epstein files.
A litigator who helped increase Paul Weiss's annual revenue under his leadership to more than $2.6 billion in 2024, Karp built a reputation as a defender of Wall Street while also championing social justice causes. As a Democratic Party fundraiser, he helped rally lawyers for Kamala Harris' failed 2024 presidential campaign against Donald Trump. His clients have included major Wall Street banks and the National Football League.
Karp's nearly 18-year run atop Paul Weiss unraveled in days after he surfaced in news reports this week about his links to Epstein. As recently as Monday, Karp had internal support within the firm, a person familiar with the matter said. By late Wednesday evening, he had decided to relinquish his chairmanship, resulting in Barshay ascending to lead the firm. Karp brought Barshay to Paul Weiss from rival firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore in 2016.
Karp met Epstein through his work representing Leon Black, co-founder and former chairman of Apollo Global Management, a Paul Weiss spokesperson said this week. "During the course of that representation, which spanned several years, Mr. Karp never witnessed or participated in any misconduct. Mr. Karp attended two group dinners in New York City and had a small number of social interactions by email, all of which he regrets," the spokesperson said.
Emails released by the Justice Department show Karp trading messages and meeting with Epstein for years until early 2019. In March 2019, Karp reviewed a draft court filing concerning a bid to reopen a nonprosecution agreement Epstein had secured more than a decade earlier.
"The draft motion is in great shape. It's overwhelmingly persuasive. Truly," Karp wrote to Epstein that month. "I particularly liked the argument that the 'victims' lied in wait and sat on their rights for their strategic advantage, knowing you were in prison, before they came forward."
In other emails, Karp and Epstein discuss a woman's demands for money from Black.
The firm and Karp separately faced criticism for agreeing last March to pledge tens of millions of dollars in free legal work to causes supported by the White House in exchange for Trump rescinding an executive order targeting Paul Weiss. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft had reached out to Trump on Karp's behalf, and the Paul Weiss leader eventually met with Trump in the Oval Office before brokering the agreement that undid the executive order, two people familiar with the matter said.
Karp has defended the deal with Trump, saying the president's executive order threatened its survival. The order restricted Paul Weiss's government access and federal contracting work, citing its connections to Trump's political enemies and its racial-diversity efforts.
Eight other firms later reached similar pro bono deals with the administration to avoid similar orders, pledging work worth nearly $1 billion combined. Four rival law firms that were hit with Trump executive orders sued the White House and won court rulings striking down the measures.
Contributing: Karen Freifeld, Karen Sloan and Mrinmay Dey
