For nearly two decades, Brad Karp stood at the center of Paul Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison — not just as its chairman, but as its gravitational force. He helped turn a storied New York litigation shop into a globe-spanning legal heavyweight, equally fluent in courtroom battles and blockbuster corporate deals. Then, almost overnight, the grip loosened.
The unraveling didn’t begin with scandal. It began with politics.
On election night in November 2024, Karp was among prominent Democratic donors in Washington, backing Kamala Harris in her bid for the White House. In the months before, he had personally rallied corporate lawyers to fundraise for her campaign, and one of his partners even helped Harris prepare for her debate against Donald Trump.
Trump’s victory changed everything.
His return to the presidency in early 2025 triggered a chain reaction that first rattled Paul Weiss and ultimately ended Karp’s chairmanship. The final blow came weeks ago, when the U.S. Justice Department released long-sealed records related to Jeffrey Epstein. Buried in those disclosures were extensive emails between Epstein and Karp — communications that, while not alleging wrongdoing, proved fatal to Karp’s authority inside the firm.
Within days, a leader once seen as untouchable stepped aside.
A Firm Remade in One Man’s Image
When Karp took the helm in 2008, Paul Weiss was respected, but conventional. Under his watch, it became something else entirely — a political, legal, and financial powerhouse. The firm expanded aggressively, recruited elite dealmakers, and built deep ties to Wall Street and Washington. Its lawyers and staff emerged as among the most prolific Democratic donors during the 2024 election cycle, and the firm committed substantial resources to progressive causes through pro bono work.
It also blurred old lines. Litigators shared the spotlight with corporate rainmakers. Veterans of Democratic administrations worked alongside private equity specialists. Paul Weiss was no longer just a law firm; it was a player.
That identity made it a target.
The Trump Factor
After Trump returned to office, Paul Weiss found itself in the crosshairs. In March 2025, the president signed an executive order effectively freezing the firm out of federal buildings and government contracts — part of a broader campaign against firms he viewed as hostile.
Faced with the possibility of client departures and existential damage to a 150-year-old institution, Karp made a fateful choice. Rather than fight the order in court, he sought a deal.
The negotiations culminated in a White House meeting that reportedly opened with small talk about golf. The outcome was anything but casual: the executive order would be rescinded in exchange for $40 million worth of free legal work for causes aligned with the president. Several other firms would later strike similar bargains, though some chose litigation instead — and won.
Inside Paul Weiss, the optics were disastrous. To critics, the deal looked like surrender. For a firm long associated with civil liberties and resistance to executive overreach, the compromise cut deep. Partners began to leave, including one closely tied to the Harris campaign.
The Emails That Changed Everything
While the firm was still absorbing the fallout from the Trump deal, Congress forced the release of Epstein-related records over presidential objections. The emails revealed years of contact between Karp and Epstein, including social exchanges and discussions connected to Karp’s representation of financier Leon Black.
The correspondence showed Karp thanking Epstein for an exclusive dinner, seeking help for his son in the film industry, and discussing disputes involving Black. Other emails touched on Epstein’s 2008 plea deal in Florida and a woman seeking money from Black. Contact between the two continued into 2019, shortly before Epstein’s arrest on sex-trafficking charges and his death in custody.
The firm acknowledged the interactions but said Karp never witnessed or participated in misconduct and regretted the association. Still, the damage was immediate. Karp resigned as chairman, saying the attention surrounding him had become a distraction.
A Legacy Complicated
Karp remains at Paul Weiss, continuing client work. The chairmanship has passed to Scott Barshay, the dealmaker Karp himself recruited years earlier to supercharge the firm’s corporate practice.
The irony is hard to miss. The same skills that allowed Karp to consolidate power — political fluency, elite access, comfort near authority — also exposed the firm when political winds shifted. His transformation of Paul Weiss made it formidable, but also vulnerable.
Founded in 1875, the firm once helped dismantle school segregation and broke barriers in gender equality within Big Law. Under Karp, it became a titan of finance and influence. His departure doesn’t erase that legacy — but it complicates it.
What remains is a cautionary tale: even the most successful leadership can falter when proximity to power begins to outweigh institutional distance. In the end, the fall wasn’t driven by a single decision or disclosure, but by the collision of ambition, politics, and history — and a moment when the center could no longer hold.
