Just when I thought I had overdosed on Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, the law firm that’s become synonymous with Big Law’s capitulation to Donald Trump, the New York Times dug up some fascinating morsels that even got my juices flowing.
The story reveals that the firm’s Trump deal wasn’t simply the unilateral action of former chair Brad Karp. Rather, it was the culmination of a steady transformation inside Paul Weiss that had been years in the making – and some of its most liberal members were complicit.
But let’s start with the zinger in the story: Scott Barshay, the new chair of Paul Weiss, and his problematic treatment of Lex (formerly Alexia) Korberg, the firm’s first openly transgender partner. According to partners who spoke to the Times, Barshay treated Korberg differently after their transition, voicing concern about how Korberg could make clients uncomfortable and jeopardize business.
Who knows if Barshay is truly transphobic? (The firm never investigated his actions towards Korberg.) The more salient point is that he measures everything through the lens of business development and profits – and that’s now the ethos of the firm. What the article makes clear is that Barshay, who’s responsible for roughly 65% of the firm’s revenues, has little use for Paul Weiss’s social justice legacy that Karp represented and has been steadily refashioning the firm in his own image: a relentless dealmaking machine.
“If Mx. Korberg was emerging as the new face of the firm’s historical values, Mr. Barshay was the face of the new Paul Weiss,” the Times reports.
Guess who’s the Darth Vader of Paul Weiss?
As between the two main characters, Barshay and Karp, there’s little doubt who’s the Darth Vader in this drama. While Karp comes off as much too clever for his own good, Barshay seems one-dimensional – soulless, really. In a way, this is a story told from Karp’s perspective in which he was pushed into an unholy alliance by the pressures exerted by his corporate partners.
“It felt like the narrative before was Brad capitulated and was pushed out [of his chairmanship] for cavorting with [Jeffrey] Epstein,” says a Paul Weiss insider. “Now the narrative is that Barshay transformed and destroyed the firm.”
Ultimately, though, what struck me wasn’t Barshay’s cold bloodedness (wasn’t that a given?). It was the breathtaking naiveté and arrogance of the firm’s liberal leaders. Did they really believe that elevating someone with Barshay’s reputation wouldn’t change the firm’s power dynamics? Did they think they could strike a deal with Trump and then simply resume their social justice pro bono work as though nothing had happened?
Apparently so.
Despite worries voiced by some Paul Weiss lawyers that Barshay was not a good fit – he had a reputation for being difficult and egotistical at his former firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore – Karp and his partner Robert Schumer (yes, the New York senator’s brother) reassured the troops that Barshay would stay in his lane and steer clear of the firm’s leadership.
That proved spectacularly wrong. When Karp’s damning emails to pedophile Epstein came out in February, Barshay pounced. After convening a meeting with the firm’s “Deciding Group,” Barshay told Karp he was out and that he was taking over as the new chair.
Tenacity and humiliation
What also came out loud and clear in the Times article is Karp’s tenacity – and his remarkable capacity for humiliation. First, he jumped through hoops to secure a personal meeting with the president, enlisting Trump pal Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, to put in a good word for him. Then he worked his network to float the idea of offering free legal work to the administration. “Even White House officials seemed surprised that Paul Weiss might give in,” reports the Times.
Then came the humiliating capstone. During Karp’s meeting with Trump, the president called his legal chum Robert Giuffra, co-chair of Sullivan & Cromwell (and Karp’s longtime rival) to weigh in on the deal.
Trump must have luxuriated in Karp’s discomfort. He also must have felt he had him by the balls, because at one point, he demanded that Karp commit to relitigating the 2020 election results and admitting that Paul Weiss had helped weaponize the justice system against him. (Thank goodness, Karp drew the line there.)
Yet, what truly amazes me is that Karp seemed to think that the deal with Trump would restore normalcy. “With [the executive order] behind us, we can devote our complete focus — as we always do — to our clients, our work, our colleagues and our firm,” he wrote to the firm after signing the deal.
Not so innocent?
And Karp wasn’t the only one who harbored that delusion. One of the most curious figures in the story is star litigator and Democratic stalwart Karen Dunn, who left Paul Weiss’s partnership last year after tangling with the firm over her pro bono work. The popular impression was that she resigned because she was disgusted by the firm’s capitulation to Trump. As it turns out, however, she was a cheerleader for the deal. In an email reviewed by the Times, Dunn urged Karp: “Let’s get this done !!!!” (Ooh, who leaked that juicy email?)
Did Karp, Dunn, Schumer, and the rest of Paul Weiss’s liberal establishment really believe they could have it both ways: make a pact with Trump yet preserve their moral authority?
Or is ethical elasticity what’s in order when your $7.5 million take – the profit per partner at the time – is at risk? (The Times reports that Barshay and Karp each make $20 million a year, though my sources put that figure closer to $30 million.)
Even Lex Korberg, arguably the story’s most sympathetic figure, wound up compromising. Though Korberg never threatened legal action, “partners feared they could go public, harming the firm and Mr. Barshay,” reports the Times. The upshot was that Korberg got an exit package totaling around $6.5 million. In return, Korberg agreed not to sue, disparage the firm, or disclose the deal. To make it look all nice and friendly, Korberg issued a departing statement: “I have loved my time at Paul Weiss, and I am so grateful to the firm for its unwavering commitment to social justice.”
That’s pretty pukey in light of what’s come out. But I don’t blame Korberg for taking the deal. Fighting a legal powerhouse like Paul Weiss would exhaust almost anyone. At a certain point, cutting your losses and getting on with your life have to be the priority.
In the end, almost everyone was compromised. Some sold out. Some cashed out. And some simply never gave a damn at all.
Related posts:
Were We Too Nice to Brad Karp?
Big Law’s Execution of Brad Karp
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