Brad Karp Asked Epstein for Job for Son, Latest File Dump Shows (1)

Paul Weiss leader Brad Karp asked disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein for a personal favor and complimented him on his home and hospitality in a batch of emails recently made public by the Justice Department.

“I can’t thank you enough for including me in an evening I’ll never forget,” Karp said to Epstein in a July 2015 email, referring to what appears to be a social visit to Epstein’s home. “It was truly ‘once in a lifetime’ in every way, though I hope to be invited again.”

Karp has appeared in previous batches of what is colloquially known as the Epstein files because he represented Leon Black, co-founder of Apollo Global Management Inc. Karp and the Wall Street firm that he leads have tamped down the relationship with Epstein, who also refers to Karp client Robert Kraft in the emails.

“Paul Weiss was retained by Leon Black, then the CEO of the firm’s longtime client Apollo, to negotiate a series of fee disputes with Jeffrey Epstein that spanned several years,” Paul Weiss said Sunday in a statement. “The firm was adverse to Epstein, and at no point did Paul Weiss or Brad Karp ever represent him.”

The latest dump, released Friday, features a July 2016 email in which Karp asks Epstein for help getting his son a job working on a Woody Allen film production.

Karp attended a few dinner gatherings at Epstein’s Upper East Side residence, according to a person familiar with the matter.

“You are always welcome,” Epstein responded to Karp’s July 2015 email complimenting his hospitality. “There are many many nights of unique talents. You will be invited often.”

Another July 2015 interaction shows Epstein asking Karp about revoking a woman’s visa. “Is it possible for your contacts to 1 get her current visa status ? 2. Is there a way, for us to file something that would revoke a tourist visa.”

Karp responded, “Both good ideas; will work on this.” The identity of the woman in question is unclear.

Karp is a prominent litigator who for decades has served as a key adviser to Black and private equity powerhouse Apollo. The relationship helped Karp climb the ranks as a rainmaker at Paul Weiss, the 150-year-old Manhattan law firm that he has turned into a major player in corporate deals work in nearly two decades at the helm.

Black, Karp’s client, paid Epstein $158 million between 2012 and 2017, according to an investigation commissioned by Apollo.

The email correspondence between Karp and Epstein occurred after the sex offender pleaded guilty to state charges of solicitation of prostitution with a minor in 2008 and served a year in prison.

The Justice Department’s release Friday of the largest batch of Epstein files yet is a result of intense public pressure and reveals Epstein’s connections to some of the country’s most prominent lawyers, investors, executives, political figures, academics, and media advisers following his prison stint.

Deal Backlash

The email release comes on the heels of a challenging year for Karp and his law firm.

Paul Weiss was the first of nine Big Law firms to reach a deal with President Donald Trump to thwart punitive executive orders that sought to strip the firms’ lawyers of their government security clearances and accused them of “illegal DEI” practices. The firm promised to provide $40 million in free legal services to Trump. In total, the nine firms agreed to provide about $1 billion in legal services, among other concessions.

Paul Weiss faced much backlash over the deal. Karp was heckled and protested at a New York bar association event last year as he defended the firm’s pro bono work. During the November 2025 remarks, Karp said he had a heart attack three months before Trump slapped the firm with a punitive executive order.

The firm lost more than a dozen litigators to a boutique launched by a handful of ex-Paul Weiss partners. But it has continued to rake in lucrative work for leading corporate clients.

Karp isn’t the only attorney found to be communicating with Epstein. Kathy Ruemmler, a legal star on her way to becoming Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s top lawyer, exchanged messages with Epstein starting in 2016, referring to him as “Uncle Jeffrey” and raving about gifts of boots and a handbag. Ruemmler is currently the company’s chief legal officer and general counsel.