Ben Thomson – Brad Karp has risen to the top of the legal profession running one of the most powerful law firms in the world, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, but he believes the role of big law leadership is close to over.
Karp is widely recognized as one of the country’s leading litigators and corporate advisers, with a blue chip list of top clients, including not only Fortune 100 companies but financial groups and individuals he has advised on litigation, crises and investigations.
The big law firms have changed, he told The American Lawyer, saying that the nature of big law had changed with lateral movements, hybrid working conditions, articial intelligence developments and other changes that have made the job more stressful and subject to potential burnout.
Paul Weiss has been the subject of some major lateral moves itself, recruiting legal star Neel Sachdev in London in one of the highest pay deals seen in a lateral movement in the City, along with a bunch of other moves featuring Paul Weiss as ‘recruiter’.
The firm is number 10 on the LawFuel List of the 30 Most Prestigious Law Firms in the World.
Background:
Born in 1960, Karp graduated summa cum laude from Union College in 1981 and received his J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1984.
He began his career at Paul, Weiss as a summer associate and has spent his entire career at the firm.
His legal expertise covers a broad range of practice areas, including litigation, cybersecurity and data protection, economic sanctions and AML, sustainability and ESG, financial services litigation and investigations, insurance, corporate governance, international arbitration and a range of other securities, white collar and other issues.
The firm itself focuses on key practice areas. Karp says Paul Weiss has a competitive advantage in private equity, public company M&A, litigation, white collar and regulatory defense, and restructuring.
Recognition and Awards
He has been recognized with numerous industry awards, including being named “Attorney of the Year” by the New York Law Journal and Lawdragon, and “Litigator of the Year” by The American Lawyer and Benchmark Litigation/Euromoney.
Although he may not trumpet the accolade, he was even listed as one of New York’s top 10 ‘sexiest’ in a New York Post report.
Most recently the New York Law Journal reported on his role for the New York Bar Association to ensure colleges and institutions maintain diversity in the face of a US Supreme Court decision on affirmative action.
Karp’s Client Rolodex
Karp’s reputation as disclosed in his biography at Paul Weiss and other publications has been considerable with a rolodex of blue chip clients have including some of the biggest names in American finance and business, such as JPMorgan Chase, Wachovia, Morgan Stanley, Apollo Global Management, Merrill Lynch, Deloitte, MacAndrews & Forbes, ING, Bear Stearns, Ericsson and others.
His notable legal work for Citigroup following the Enron and WorldCom scandals was a contributing factor to Paul, Weiss being named “Litigation Department of the Year” by The American Lawyer in 2006.
Karp’s Paul Weiss Leadership
Karp’s leadership at Paul, Weiss has been characterized by his significant legal achievements and his dedication to public service, which has boosted the firm’s pro bono hours.
In addition to his legal practice and senior role at Paul Weiss, Karp is a frequent speaker and writer on business litigation, securities litigation, corporate governance, crisis management, and ESG.
He has reportedly spoken at over 700 conferences and lectured at various leading law schools, further enhancing his ‘star lawyer’ reputation and contribution to the legal profession generally, quite apart from his role at Paul Weiss. Karp is also known for his monthly column for the New York Law Journal, “Second Circuit Review,” which he has been writing for over 30 years.
Karp has a firm commitment to social justice and retains a strong interest in the legal profession, serving on more than 40 public interest or cultural, educational and charitable boards.
His work in these areas has seen his influence extend well beyond the focus of his work at Paul Weiss and garnered considerable respect and gratitude from those who have benefited from his capable and intelligent perspective on key issues affecting different institutions.
The Future of Law Firm Leadership According to Karp
The role of leadership in the large law firms is something that Brad Karp knows only too well and he has recently highlighted in major publications, as biglaw faces increased competition and tighter margins, but with top firms retaining their profitability.
He believes that long-tenure leadership roles will become considerably less in future, due to the pressures and sheer intensity of work.
In recent times, following the pandemic, law firms have adapted to a blend of in-office and remote work as well as dealing with new challenges like the use of artificial intelligence, the hybrid and remote working models, a changing client base, along with social and political issues impacting their work.
The firm has invested heavily in legal technology, Karp telling Legal 500 that they have put a lot of money and effort into AI, data analytics, predictive coding and document automation tools, which have already paid enormous dividends for Paul Weiss clients.
These varied challenges and changes have added new layers of complexity to the roles of firm chairs and managing partners.
The financial situation for major law firms has also changed since 2021 when the deals and lowered operating costs lead to major profits for the law firms, a situation that has now changed.
The pressure and changes has seen major law firms handling the lateral movements and desire to slim down staffing but maintain or enhance efficiencies create new opportunity and potential threats for those who fail to adapt.
Brad Karp’s leadership of Paul Weiss has seen the firm continue its growth while muscling its way further into the top echelons of global law firms, while he has retained a role as an inspirational character atop one of the world’s most prestigious law firms.
A sense of both excitement and trepidation await, he told American Lawyer recently.
Author – Ben Thomson writes on law management, marketing and legaltechnology issues with his last major article for LawFuel being the annual 30 Most Prestigious Law Firms List. He is on webtrafficrules@gmail.com.
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