Paul, Weiss Chair Brad Karp Resigns After Epstein Emails Released
Brad Karp, longtime chair of powerhouse law firm Paul, Weiss, has stepped down from that role after newly released Epstein files showed he corresponded with Jeffrey Epstein in 2015–2019, praising an 'evening I’ll never forget,' helping move a New York Times letter to the editor defending Epstein’s 2008 non‑prosecution deal, and calling an Epstein‑backed legal brief 'overwhelmingly persuasive.' The emails suggest Karp shared a confidential stock‑sale agreement from another client—identified only as 'M'—with Epstein in 2018 while asking that 'M' not be told he had done so, raising potential ethical questions about client confidences at a firm that represents giants like Amazon, JPMorgan Chase and ExxonMobil and recently agreed to provide $40 million in legal services to the Trump White House. In a statement, Karp said he 'regretted' his interactions with Epstein and framed his resignation as chair as necessary because 'recent reporting' had become a distraction; Paul, Weiss says neither Karp nor anyone at the firm formally represented Epstein and that Karp will remain as a practicing partner. Separately, art‑world figure David Ross, a former Whitney Museum director and department chair at New York’s School of Visual Arts, also resigned his post after his own Epstein emails surfaced in the same document dump under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The developments show the files continuing to force reckonings at elite U.S. institutions, as social media users and advocates demand that bar regulators and boards dig deeper into how much senior lawyers and cultural leaders quietly aided Epstein’s legal and PR campaigns.
đź“Ś Key Facts
- Brad Karp resigned this week as chair of Paul, Weiss but will stay on as an attorney at the firm.
- Newly released emails show Karp thanking Epstein in 2015 for 'including me in an evening I’ll never forget' and encouraging him that he would be 'invited often.'
- In 2018 Karp agreed to send Epstein a confidential stock sale agreement from a client referred to as 'M,' writing 'Please don’t let him know that I shared it. It is supposed to be strictly confidential.'
- Karp reviewed and praised a draft 'friend of the court' brief Epstein’s team wanted filed in victims’ litigation, saying he liked the argument that the 'victims lied in wait and sat on their rights,' though the brief was never filed.
- David Ross, department chair at New York’s School of Visual Arts and a former Whitney Museum director, also resigned after his emails with Epstein became public in the same document release.
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