Brad Karp, Chairman Of Top Law Firm Paul Weiss, Resigns Over Epstein Ties

The chairman of one of the nation’s top law firms suddenly resigned Wednesday evening after a series of embarrassing emails emerged between him and Jeffrey Epstein became public in recent days.

Brad Karp, who has been at the helm of law firm Paul Weiss for 18 years, gave no explanation for his decision – aside form a statement that “Recent reporting has created a distraction and has placed a focus on me that is not in the best interests of the firm.”

The firm, which has over 1,200 lawyers, represents some of the largest companies in the world, including Amazon, Exxon Mobil and the NFL – and has a reputation for providing free work to immigrant groups. 

According to new emails released by the DOJ, Karp was not only a guest at Epstein’s New York Mansion, the two exchanged emails on a regular basis. 

He coached Epstein during his underage sex-trafficking scandal, referring to accusers as ‘victims,’ (in quotes), and suggesting that they “lied in wait and sat on their rights for their strategic advantage, knowing you were in prison, before they came forward.”

Karp met Epstein through legal work for billionaire Leon Black, co-founder of Apollo Global Management. Black paid Epstein nearly $170 million for tax and estate planning advice (and totally not blackmail). Karp then began socializing with Epstein – at one point asking the disgraced financier for help landing his son a job on a Woody Allen movie. 

After Karp attended a dinner at Epstein’s Manhattan mansion in 2015 where Allen was present, Karp wrote to Epstein in an email that it was “an evening I’ll never forget,” referring to Epstein as “an extraordinary host” who was “amazing.”

One lawyer at Paul Weiss told the NY Times that the relationship has become an embarrassment, while others were upset that Karp received an email where Epstein suggested that Black should retain a private investigator to surveil a former mistress. 

On Monday, Karp said he regretted his interactions with Epstein, and had only “attended two group dinners in New York City and had a small number of social interactions by email, all of which he regrets.”

The joke is that Karp will remain at Paul Weiss… while their head of corporate practice, Scott Barshay, will take over as Chairman. Weiss said that Barshay had “over 30 years advising boards of directors and management teams on some of the most complex and highest-profile legal matters.”

Paul Weiss was also notably one of the Big Law firms that struck a deal with the White House to sidestep an executive order that would have effectively barred the firm from representing clients before the federal government.

In deciding to settle with the White House, Mr. Karp explained to the firm’s lawyers that the restrictions proposed by the Trump administration — like preventing Paul Weiss lawyers from entering federal buildings — would have prevented Paul Weiss from effectively representing its clients. But the settlement rankled many of the firm’s top litigators who wanted to challenge the White House’s executive order in court. –NYT

And now, Karp joins a growing list of Epstein file casualties.