The head of a major Wall Street law firm, who faced strong criticism for supporting President Donald Trump’s campaign for revenge, has now left his position after secret emails he sent to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were made public.
Brad Karp, the 66-year-old leader of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, praised Epstein as “amazing” and even asked him for help in getting his son a job with a Woody Allen production, according to newly released documents from the Department of Justice.
A few days after these emails were made public, Karp suddenly resigned as chairman of Paul, Weiss, according to a statement from the firm.
In his statement, Karp said, “Leading Paul, Weiss for the past 18 years has been the honor of my professional life.
Recent reporting has created a distraction and has placed a focus on me that is not in the best interests of the firm.”
Karp will continue working with the firm and will now focus entirely on helping clients.
Paul, Weiss had earlier explained that Karp was involved in the Epstein files because the firm was hired by Leon Black, a former client and CEO of Apollo Global Management, to handle a fee disagreement with Epstein.
The firm said, “The firm was against Epstein, and at no point did Paul, Weiss or Brad Karp ever represent him.”
However, the emails revealed that Karp’s interactions with Epstein were not always professional or distant.
In July 2015, Karp wrote to Epstein, thanking him for a dinner that he described as “once in a lifetime.”
He said, “You are an extraordinary host—and your home…!!!”
Epstein’s assistant also arranged for Karp and his children to watch Woody Allen movies several times between 2014 and 2018.
Woody Allen, who is 90 years old, married Soon-Yi Previn, Mia Farrow’s adopted daughter, in 1997.
He was accused of sexually abusing Farrow’s other daughter, Dylan, which he denies.
Allen and Previn were frequent guests at Epstein’s home on the Upper East Side, despite the controversy around Allen, as reported by The New York Times in December.
Last year, Karp faced backlash for being the first big law firm executive to make a deal with Trump after the president issued several orders to target law firms that had represented his supposed enemies.
While other firms fought these orders and won in court, Paul, Weiss agreed to offer $40 million in free legal services for causes supported by Trump, issue a statement about remaining neutral in hiring, and avoid promoting diversity and inclusion policies.
This deal hurt the firm’s reputation and led to the departure of top employees.
Karp was even booed and protested at a New York Bar Foundation event in November, as reported by Bloomberg Law.
Trump was friends with Epstein for over a decade.
The president has denied knowing anything about Epstein’s crimes.
About the Author
