by
Jamie
Watts
for
Big
Law
Business)
There’s
a
lot
of
recent
talk
about
Paul,
Weiss’s
chair
Brad
Karp
—
not
much
of
it
flattering
right
now.
The
Biglaw
partner’s
relationship
with
the
infamous
sexual
predator
Jeffrey
Epstein
has
been
in
the
news,
after
the
release
of
the
latest
tranche
of
government
files
related
to
the
late
Epstein.
We’ve known
for
a
while that
Karp
—
and
a
lot
of
rank
and
file
PW
attorneys
—
would
appear
in
the
Epstein
files.
The
firm
represents
Apollo
Global
Management
and
its
CEO
Leon
Black,
who
worked
extensively
with
Epstein.
Black
and
Epstein
had
a
fee
dispute,
and
Paul,
Weiss
was
involved
in
that
negotiation.
But
the
recent
doc
drop
paints
a
cozier
picture
of
the
relationship
between
Karp
and
Epstein
than
anticipated.
The
documents
show
Karp
fawning
over
social
engagements
with
Epstein;
asking
for
favors
on
behalf
of
his
son;
gossiping
about
Biglaw
leadership
changes;
and
editing
a
defense
of
Epstein’s plea
agreement
in
a
Florida
sex
abuse
and
trafficking
case.
This
is
something
Karp
regrets,
but
perhaps
now
isn’t
the
time
for
Karp
to
be
out
in
front
of
a
crowd.
According
to
Bloomberg
Law,
Karp
is
no
longer
appearing
at
an
event
today
where
he
was
slated
to
discuss
“leadership
in
uncertain
times.”
Karp
was
a
promoted
speaker
at
the
Wall
Street
Journal’s
Invest
Live
two-day
conference
in
West
Palm
Beach,
Florida.
He
was
scheduled
to
discuss
how
he’s
guiding
clients
through
geopolitical
developments,
artificial-intelligence
transformation,
and
a
rapidly
evolving
US
political
landscape,
according
to
the
Journal’s
original
itinerary.
The
discussion
has
been
replaced
with
the
publication’s
reporting
and
outlook
on
the
Federal
Reserve.
It
was
only
a
few
months
ago
that
Karp
was
heckled
at
the New
York
Bar
Foundation
gala.
That
outburst
took
Karp
—
and
Paul,
Weiss
—
to
task
for
the
deal
struck
with
the
Trump
administration.
In
the
face
of
an
unconstitutional
executive
order
targeting
the
firm,
Paul,
Weiss
became
the
first
firm
to
seek
out Trump’s
seal
of
approval
with
a
pro
bono
payola
deal,
that
is,
free
legal
services
on
behalf
of
conservative
clients
or
causes
in
order
to
avoid
Trumpian
retribution.
Perhaps
that
uncomfortable
experience
taught
Karp
discretion
is
the
better
part
of
valor
and
he’ll
be
keeping
a
low
profile
for
the
time
being.
Earlier:
Brad
Karp’s
Fawning
Epstein
Emails
Drags
Paul,
Weiss
Into
The
Fray
So
What
Does
Brad
Karp
Think
About
The
Latest
Epstein
File
Revelations?
Jeffrey
Epstein:
Biglaw
Career
Counselor?
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
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with
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questions,
or
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and
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@Kathryn1 or
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