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After his name surfaced in email correspondence with sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, attorney Brad Karp resigned in February as the chairman of powerhouse corporate law firm Paul Weiss. But Karp, 66, remained with the firm as a senior partner, and the NFL continues to employ him as a lead attorney in two high-profile ongoing lawsuits, recent legal filings show.
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One of three Paul Weiss lawyers who wrote the investigative report on Deflategate in 2015 and the league’s representative in myriad concussion-related lawsuits and settlements, Karp is among the lawyers who has represented the NFL since 2022 in its defense against Brian Flores’ racial discrimination lawsuit.
The league also retained Karp to fight a lawsuit brought by former NFL coach Jon Gruden, who sued the league and commissioner Roger Goodell, accusing them of destroying his career through a leak campaign, which is scheduled to be heard at trial in Nevada state court in May 2027.
Like many others removed from Epstein’s crimes, Karp engaged in social contact with him after his acts were known, potentially contributing to a laundering of his reputation. Following Epstein’s conviction and subsequent death by suicide while in jail, powerful institutions such as the NFL must determine what, if any, consequences such associates should face.
“It’s one of those things that’s lawful, but awful,” said Rep. Wesley Bell, D-Mo., a member of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, whose investigation into Epstein and his ties remains ongoing. “The NFL, considering the place they hold in our society – much less with kids – I think should be very sensitive to the people they associate with. Very questionable, I think.”
The NFL declined to comment through a spokesman.
Karp, who cited “recent reporting” that “created a distraction” when he resigned his chairmanship in February, declined to comment.
“Mr. Karp attended two group dinners in New York City and had a small number of social interactions by email, all of which he regrets,” Paul Weiss said in a statement in February, following the Justice Department’s release of a trove of documents related to Epstein.
Karp’s emails with Epstein, which trace from the mid-2010s through 2019, provide a window into a relationship that at times blurred between professional and social, an example of the favor-trading that allowed Epstein to amass currency among the elite.
Karp developed a relationship with Epstein through Paul Weiss’ legal work for Leon Black, the co-founder of private equity giant Apollo Global Management, the firm’s largest client. Black paid Epstein $170 million in tax and estate planning fees, and Karp corresponded with Epstein about a dispute over those fees.
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Most of their early exchanges concern the case, often banal scheduling attempts. (In one email, Karp cited the NFL owners’ meetings as a conflict.) But several emails seemingly went beyond Karp’s legal work.
In what UCLA legal ethics professor Scott Cummings considered “the most problematic aspect” of the Karp-Epstein emails, Karp and Epsteindiscussedhow tohandlea woman whom many reports later identified as Black’s mistress. In those emails, Karp and Epstein discussed surveillance methods. In one 2015 email, Epstein suggested Karp’s legal team discern the woman’s visa status and attempt to revoke it. “Both good ideas; will work on this,” Karp replied.
