Jeffrey Epstein’s mug shot released by the US Department of Justice.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Brad Karp, chairman of the leading corporate law firm Paul Weiss, resigned from his position on Wednesday after his feud over emails with notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein became public.
“It has been the honor of my professional life to lead Paul, Weiss for the past 18 years,” Karp said in a statement. “Recent coverage has been distracting and focused on me, which is not in the best interest of the company.”
Karp, who was appointed chairman in 2008, will remain with the company and “continue to focus full-time on customer service,” Paul Weiss said in a statement.
Scott Barshay, previously chairman of Paul Weiss’ corporate division, has been appointed chairman of the company, effective immediately, the company said.
Karp was with Paul Weiss for more than 40 years.
His resignation as chairman came two days after the company announced that “Mr. Karp attended two group dinners in New York City and had a small number of social interactions via email,” all of which he said 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 to help Karp secure a job on a Woody Allen film for his son.
In response to the Bloomberg article, Paul Weiss said, “Paul Weiss was hired by Leon Black, then CEO of Apollo, a longtime client, to negotiate a series of fee disputes with Jeffrey Epstein that spanned several years.”
“Our firm is against Mr. Epstein and Paul Weiss and Brad Karp never represented Mr. Epstein,” the firm said.
The company’s new chairman, Vershay, said in a statement Wednesday that Karp has made “significant contributions” during his tenure.
“As chairman of the company, he transformed Paul Weiss in unprecedented ways to deliver significant benefits to our customers,” Barshay said.
“We are grateful for his extraordinary dedication and service over the years as chairman.”
Karp signed a controversial deal last March to provide $40 million worth of free legal work to causes supported by President Donald Trump. In response, the president revoked a previous executive order targeting the company.
