Paul Weiss chairman Brad Karp resigns
Mugshot of Jeffrey Epstein released by the US Department of Justice.
Source: US Department of Justice
Brad Karppresident of large corporate law firm Paul WeissHe resigned from that position on Wednesday after emails between him and notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were made public.
“It has been the honor of my professional life to lead Paul Weiss for the last 18 years,” said Karp. expression. “Recent news has created a distraction and has led to a focus on me that is not in the best interest of the firm.”
Paul Weiss said in a statement that Karp, who was appointed president in 2008, will remain at the firm where he will “continue to focus his full-time attention on customer service.”
Scott Barshay, head of Paul Weiss’ corporate department, has been appointed president of the firm, effective immediately, according to the firm.
Karp had been with Paul Weiss for more than four decades.
His resignation as chairman came two days after the firm said “Mr. Karp attended two group dinners in New York City and had a small number of social interactions with Epstein via email, all of which he regrets.”
The emails were among millions of documents related to Epstein released by the Justice Department last week.
Bloomberg reported that an email from Karp asked Epstein for help finding Karp’s son a job on a Woody Allen movie.
In response to this article on Bloomberg, Paul Weiss said: “Paul Weiss was hired by Leon Black, then the CEO of Apollo, a long-time client of the firm, to negotiate a series of pay disputes with Jeffrey Epstein spanning several years.”
“The firm was opposed to Epstein and was never represented by Paul Weiss or Brad Karp,” the firm said.
Barshay, the firm’s new president, said Wednesday that Karp had made “tremendous contributions” during his tenure.
“As President of the firm, he transformed Paul Weiss in an unprecedented way to the great benefit of our clients,” Barshay said.
“We are grateful for his extraordinary dedication and service throughout his many years as president.”
Last March, Karp signed a controversial agreement that would provide $40 million worth of legal work for free for causes supported by President Donald Trump. The president also rescinded an earlier executive order targeting the company.
