“Let’s get this done!!!!”
The legal world was astonished last year when Paul Weiss, the Wall Street firm long known as a bastion of pro bono work in service of progressive causes, bent the knee to President Trump.
An investigation by Michael Schmidt and Jessica Silver-Greenberg of The Times delves into what led to the decision. This included the transformation of Paul Weiss from an elite shop of litigators, led by Brad Karp, to a powerhouse corporate deal practice led by Scott Barshay that was more sensitive to anything that could alienate clients.
But Schmidt and Silver-Greenberg also explain how Paul Weiss arranged a deal with the Trump administration, which involved Karp; Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots and a contact of Karp’s; and more.
From The Times:
It took two days of Mr. Karp leaving messages before Mr. Trump called back. He told Mr. Karp that in addition to Mr. Kraft, Marc Rowan, the head of Apollo, had vouched for him. They agreed to meet the next morning at 8 a.m. in the Oval Office.
Mr. Karp arrived alone. In the Oval Office was the president’s personal lawyer Boris Epshteyn. Another one of Mr. Trump’s personal lawyers, Robert Giuffra, was dialed in.
For Mr. Karp, Mr. Giuffra’s presence was likely to be unnerving.
Mr. Giuffra is a fierce rival of Paul Weiss as co-chairman of Sullivan & Cromwell, and he was handling Mr. Trump’s appeal of his criminal conviction in the Manhattan district attorney’s case involving Stormy Daniels. Now, Mr. Giuffra appeared to be helping the president bring Paul Weiss to heel.
The meeting lasted several hours. Mr. Trump complained that Paul Weiss had wronged him. He raised the fact that E. Jean Carroll, the woman who won a civil judgment against him for sexual abuse, was represented by Ms. Kaplan, a former Paul Weiss partner, at a trial overseen by a judge who was also a former Paul Weiss partner.
Mr. Karp refused one demand from the White House: that Mr. Karp commit to help re-litigate the 2020 election and that Paul Weiss say it had been part of weaponizing the justice system against Mr. Trump.
Still, even partners who were stalwart Democrats were eager to strike a deal: “Let’s get this done!!!!” Karen Dunn, who oversaw debate prep for Kamala Harris, wrote an email reviewed by The Times.
