New Paul Weiss Leader Is No-Nonsense Dealmaker: New York Brief

Feb. 6, 2026, 12:02 PM UTC

Paul Weiss’ New Leader

Scott Barshay
Scott Barshay
Bloomberg via Getty Images

The sudden resignation of longtime Paul Weiss leader Brad Karp, an earthquake in the New York legal industry, puts immediate pressure on his successor, Scott Barshay, to steady the elite Wall Street firm, Meghan Tribe and Justin Henry report.

Barshay, the first M&A lawyer to lead Paul Weiss, was already the second-most influential person at the firm behind Karp. His first challenge is to instill a “sense of stability and avoid a slow bleed of departures” after Karp stepped down over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, said Cari Brunelle, of communications firm Baretz+Brunelle.

Barshay ...

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