KARP, FIRM HAVE BEEN CRITICISED FOR DEAL WITH TRUMP
Karp, who began his career at Paul Weiss in the early 1980s and had chaired 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’ annual revenue under his leadership to more than US$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 unravelled 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 non-prosecution 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.