From Cravath Star to Paul Weiss Chair
Ben Thomson, LawFuel contributing writer
In one of the most dramatic leadership transitions in Big Law history, Scott Barshay has been appointed Chairman of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, effective immediately, following Brad Karp’s decision to resign as Chairman.
The sudden change, announced February 4, 2026, marks the end of Brad Karp’s 18-year tenure and ushers in what industry insiders are calling a fundamental cultural reset at one of Wall Street’s most storied law firms.
The $300 Billion Man
If you’re going to replace a legend, you’d better bring receipts. Barshay has them—by the truckload. The Financial Times has described him as “one of Wall Street’s most prolific dealmakers,” and the numbers back it up. MergerLinks ranked Scott as the #1 lawyer on its annual list of top dealmakers in North America by deal value for 2023 in which he led $121 billion in M&A transactions and for 2021 in which he led $100 billion in M&A transactions.
His deal sheet reads like a greatest hits album of corporate America’s blockbuster transactions: Anheuser-Busch InBev’s $107 billion acquisition of SABMiller; Chevron’s $55 billion acquisition of Hess Corporation; IBM’s $34 billion acquisition of Red Hat; and World Wrestling Entertainment’s $21 billion merger with UFC to form TKO Group Holdings.
In 2024, Scott was recognized as “Dealmaker of the Year” by The American Lawyer for his role in WWE’s $21 billion merger with UFC.
From Cravath to Paul Weiss: The Move That Shook Wall Street
Barshay’s journey to the Paul Weiss chairmanship began with a bombshell lateral move that’s still talked about in hushed tones in white-shoe firm corridors. He received a B.A. degree magna cum laude from Colgate University in 1988, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a J.D. degree from Columbia Law School in 1991, where he was a Stone Scholar.
He then spent a quarter-century at Cravath Swaine & Moore, making partner in 1998 and eventually heading the firm’s corporate practice.
In 2015, he reportedly generated about $100 million in fees. At Karp’s urging, Barshay left Cravath in 2016 for Paul Weiss in a move that shocked the industry.
The defection was described at the time as the biggest Cravath departure since David Boies left in 1997. Barshay quickly made an impact at the firm, bringing with him longtime Cravath corporate clients such as Chevron Corp., IBM Corp., and Qualcomm Inc.
Since joining Paul Weiss, Barshay has been a lateral hiring machine, aggressively recruiting corporate rainmakers and transforming the firm into what some call an M&A juggernaut.
Barshay aggressively hired corporate rainmakers from other firms, emphasizing public and private mergers and acquisitions.
The firm has top corporate transactions rainmakers, such as Krishna Veeraraghavan from Sullivan & Cromwell, Neel Sachdev from Kirkland & Ellis, former top Morgan Stanley executive Robert Kindler, and Jim Langston from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton .
A Different Kind of Leader
Make no mistake – the leadership transition from Karp to Barshay represents more than just a changing of the guard. It’s a fundamental shift in how Paul Weiss will be run. Rick Rule, former co-chair of antitrust at Paul Weiss who left in 2022 to start his own firm, said there will be “a shift in leadership style” from “a connection-based style of being people’s friends and being significant in political circles to someone who is very business-oriented and focused on the bottom line”.
Rule added of Barshay: “He doesn’t suffer fools gladly. You need to perform well. He’s big on merit” Translation: if you thought Paul Weiss was demanding before, buckle up.
A former Paul, Weiss attorney told the American Lawyer that Barshay “can be abrasive and does not have Brad’s diplomatic flair,” but acknowledged “he has an amazing practice and is great with client relationships.”
The attorney raised an intriguing cultural question: “As a cultural matter, the litigators have never been led by a corporate partner. Will the litigation team have an issue with the firm becoming really a corporate shop with a litigation arm, rather than the other way?”
Scott Barshay is the first M&A lawyer to lead storied Wall Street law firm Paul Weiss, marking a symbolic and substantive shift in the firm’s power center from litigation to deals.
The Brass Tacks
Barshay steps into the chairmanship at a moment of maximum turbulence. Cari Brunelle, a co-founder of growth advisory firm Baretz+Brunelle, noted that partners’ “trust, and their faith, has been shaken,” and said Barshay must “instill confidence and a sense of stability and avoid a slow bleed of departures” .
But Barshay isn’t starting from scratch. He’s had a hand in steering major firm decisions for several years, including how much partners get paid and which lateral partners to recruit—even in practices outside of corporate. One market observer noted that in Scott Barshay, the Paul Weiss chairmanship gets someone who “has widely been seen as [Brad Karp’s] successor and also widely seen as the power behind the power in recent years” Law.com.
Mike Parrillo, founder of legal recruiter Parrillo Search Group, said Barshay brings “gravitas and vision” to his new post, allowing him to continue work he has already been doing at the firm. “Scott’s appointment as chairman reflects the role he has long played in shaping the firm’s direction”.
What’s Next?
Barshay’s immediate challenge is stabilization—keeping clients happy, partners in the fold, and the firm’s reputation intact during a period of intense scrutiny. But his long-term opportunity is perhaps more interesting: cementing Paul Weiss’s transformation from a litigation-first firm into a true corporate powerhouse that can go toe-to-toe with the likes of Wachtell Lipton and Sullivan & Cromwell in the biggest M&A battles.
As Paul Weiss attorney Rick Rule put it: “Increasingly, a lot of the business at the firm was driven by Scott and the people who he attracted. Litigation and investigations, in my humble estimation, aren’t going to drive growth the way they did 15 or 20 years ago.”
In his first statement as chairman, Barshay said: “I step into this role with great confidence in Paul, Weiss’ continued success. Our strength lies in the talent and dedication of our people and trusted client relationships. Clients come to Paul, Weiss because we deliver excellence, and our firm is unified in our commitment to continuing to provide the highest standards of client service”.
I guess that means, business as usual – except everything is about to change.
