Lawyer embroiled in Epstein revelations represents banks in discrimination cases

Brad Karp, chairman of elite law firm Paul Weiss, did not seem pleased about resigning from his role yesterday. In a statement provided to Bloomberg, he said: “Recent reporting has created a distraction and has placed a focus on me that is not in the best interests of the firm.” When the furore erupted, the Wall Street Journal says Karp was scheduled to speak at an event on 'leadership in uncertain times'; he dropped out.

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Jeffrey Epstein has derailed Karp. Emails released by the Department of Justice in the Epstein files suggested that Karp and Epstein were friends. Karp asked Epstein to help his son find work with Woody Allen. Karp attended a dinner with Epstein in 2015, which he subsequently described as "truly "once in a lifetime" in every way." And that Karp volunteered to review a letter relating to Epstein's 2008 prosecution agreement. In turn, Epstein emailed Karp promising, “There are many many nights of unique talents. you will be invited often.” 

Paul Weiss did not respond to requests to comment for this article. There is no indication that either Karp or Paul Weiss ever represented Jeffrey Epstein. Earlier this week, a spokesperson for the firm told Reuters that Karp did nothing wrong: “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.” 

Today, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Karp was ousted from the top job at Paul Weiss on Wednesday by a group of partners who met without him and decided the Epstein reports were simply too distracting. Karp was reportedly surprised, but went quietly for the good of the firm he'd helped build over 20 years.

Karp's demotion marks the end of an era on Wall Street, where he was a popular figure working on behalf of banks. In an interview last year, Karp told the Vault that his clients included Citigroup, TD, UBS, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Apollo, Blackstone, and KKR. 

Among other things, Karp told the Vault that he worked with clients on "sensitive internal investigations," "complex crises," and "damaging media coverage."

His cases included discrimination and sexual harassment cases. As a junior, Karp worked worked on the infamous Boom Boom Room case, which began in 1997 with allegations about sexual harassment and discrimination in a Smith Barney Branch, and which ended with a $33m gender bias class action settlement by Citi in 2008. 

Karp reportedly helped Citi sift through 2,000 claims as part of that settlement process. Afterwards, he praised Citi for wanting "do justice by the plaintiffs."

Since then, Citi has used Paul Weiss to work on other allegations against the bank by its staff. In a post on LinkedIn, Ardith Lindsey, the Citi managing director pursuing a sexual assault and harassment case, claims that Paul Weiss attorneys are representing Citi against her. Citi also recently used Paul Weiss's people to interview its women complaining of mistreatment by its allegedly angry wealth head. Some of those women subsequently complained that they had not been interviewed after all. 

Citi has repeatedly refuted all claims of wrongdoing relating to its head of wealth management and is fighting Lindsey's claim. The bank declined to comment for this article. Karp may still be on hand to help: the WSJ says he will remain at Paul Weiss as a partner and will continue to work for his clients. 

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