You
know
that
meme
of
the
dog
sitting
amid
flames,
saying
everything
is
fine?
(For
our
visual
learners,
it’s
below.)
Well,
Brad
Karp,
chair
of
Biglaw
firm
Paul,
Weiss,
is
doing
the
damndest
impersonation
of
it.
Paul,
Weiss shocked
the
world
of
Biglaw in
March
when
they became
the
first —
though not
the
last
—
firm
to
bend
a
knee
to
Donald
Trump
to
get
out
from
under
an onerous
Executive
Order designed
to extract
a
financial
penalty for
being
affiliated
with
cases
and
causes
that
displeased
the
president.
Since
then,
the
firm
has
been
experiencing
the
consequences
of
their
actions
—
the
deal
with Trump
keeps
getting
worse,
there’ve
been congressional
investigations
and client
concerns.
And,
of
course,
there’ve
been
bunches
lawyers bailing on the
firm to distance
themselves
from
the
craven
capitulation.
Most
recently,
Paul,
Weiss
is
dealing
with
the
anticipated
20-odd
litigators
leaving
to
work
at
litigation
boutique
Dunn
Isaacson
Rhee.
That
firm
was
created
in
the
wake
of
Paul,
Weiss’s
Trump
deal
by
partners
Karen
Dunn,
Bill
Isaacson,
Jessica
Phillips,
and
Jeannie
Rhee.
And
Karp
spent
time
last
week
doing
damage
control
on
those
departures.
According
to
reporting
by
American
Lawyer,
Karp
spoke
at
a
partner
meeting
to
combat
“misinformation”
about
the
recent
spate
of
departures.
He
allegedly
called
those
heading
to
Dunn
Isaacson
a
“siloed
unit”
that
came
to
Paul,
Weiss
from
Boies
Schiller.
Karp
also
told
partners
on
Monday
that
he
expects
some
other
partners
who
worked
together
at
Paul
Weiss
and
Boies
Schiller,
including
income
partners,
to
join
the
departing
group.
Sources
said
that
Karp
told
the
partnership
that
the
firm
has
“encouraged
them
to
move
on”
and
that
the
firm
wished
them
“every
success.”
But
other
sources
dispute
that
characterization,
saying
the
departing
attorneys
(19
so
far
have
been
confirmed
to
be
leaving
for
Dunn
Isaacson,
with
more
expected
to
join
according
to
the
boutique)
were
not
siloed
and
of
the
19
joining
the
new
firm,
only
five
worked
together
at
Boies.
Karp
downplayed
the
losses
to
the
firm’s
litigation
department
(Damian
Williams,
former
U.S.
attorney
for
the
Southern
District
of
New
York,
also
recently
announced
he
was
leaving
Paul,
Weiss
for
Jenner
&
Block
—
a
firm
very
much
not
capitulating
to
Trump)
saying
the
firm
has
“has
never
been
healthier,”
and
noting
the
litigation
department
is
still
55%
larger
than
it
was
two
years
ago.
During
the
meeting,
Karp
also
sought
to
address
the
health
and
growth
of
the
firm,
noting
that
six
of
the
10
largest
matters
in
the
firm
over
the
past
month
are
litigation
matters.
According
to
sources,
Karp
said
“none
of
the
recently
departed
partners”
had
anything
to
do
with
the
generation
of
these
matters,
and
they
were
instead
generated
by
current
litigation
partners.
One
certainly
assumes,
that
given
the
size
and
profitability
of
Paul,
Weiss,
the
firm
will,
long
term,
be
able
to
weather
this
storm.
But
it’s
not
a
great
sign
that
the
partnership
needs
this
kind
of
reassurance
from
Karp.
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
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].