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Brad Karp has stepped down as Paul Weiss chairman after latest release of sex offender Jaffrey Epstein files.
According to NBC News, the chairman of the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, resigned Wednesday after the most recent batch of Epstein files released by the Justice Department included correspondence between him and Jeffrey Epstein.
"Recent reporting has created a distraction and has placed a focus on me that is not in the best interests of the firm," Karp said in a statement released by the firm, which said his resignation was effective immediately.
Paul Weiss, as the firm is commonly known in corporate circles, is one of the most prestigious and high-powered law firms in the country.
Karp had chaired the firm since 2008 and has spent his entire 40-year career there.
Paul Weiss indicated that Karp was not leaving the firm entirely. “Mr. Karp will continue to focus his full-time attention to client service at the firm,” its statement said.
Documents released Friday and posted to the Justice Department's website show dozens of email exchanges between Karp and Epstein or Karp and Epstein's assistant spanning multiple years, including 2015 through 2019. The emails were about a variety of topics.
Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges in Florida in 2008 and was found dead in his jail cell in 2019.
