Paul Weiss Boss Brad Karp Remains Upbeat Despite Seven Major Partner Departures
Ben Thomson, LawFuel contributing editor
Seven partners and others have left Paul Weiss but their former firm remains in good heart according to firm boss Brad Karp, who met with litigation partner to refute the ‘disinformation’ about the firm, according to a New York Law Journal report.
Seven partners have left Paul Weiss for Dunn Isaacson Rhee, a new litigation boutique in Washington, DC. that is building a formidable team of Paul Weiss alumni who decided the heavyweight firm’s Trump Administration deal was too much to stomach.
Paul Weiss promised Trump $40 million in free legal services on shared causes, including combating antisemitism and ensuring “fairness in the justice system.” The ‘Trump deal’ was also entered by eight other firms pledging a total of nearly $1 billion in free legal services.
As part of their deals, the firms, which included Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, were reported by the Trump administration to have promised not to engage in “illegal DEI” activities.
Karp has been reassuring remaining partners and staffers about the health of the firm despite the raft of departures, which has seen continued recruitment of Paul Weiss staff for the new boutique, the ‘mini Paul Weiss’.
Despite these exits, the Paul Weiss leadership is confidently maintaining the firm is “healthier than ever” referencing the firm’s strong financials, active business development, and ongoing recruitment or expansion efforts, especially outside litigation.
It is likely the firm is leaning heavier into M&A, private equity, ESG, restructuring, or international work to buoy its position in the wake of the departures.
But it will be working hard to ensure client retention is a top priority, working with internal hires, transition teams and taking other efforts to ensure the gold-plated clientele remain loyal to the firm in the wake of the Trump-deal departures.
Who Left?
Here’s a rundown of all seven partners who have moved:
Karen Dunn
Karen Dunn co-founded Dunn Isaacson Rhee. She was co-chair of Paul Weiss’s litigation team and a key adviser to Kamala Harris during the presidential election. A formidble operator, Dunn is known for her work with tech giants like Apple and Google and brings a stellar reputation with her.
Jeannie Rhe
Jeannie Rhee allso co-founded the new firm with Dunn. She was managing partner of Paul Weiss’s DC office and worked on Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation team along with other departees. Rhee is a top litigator with a strong track record in high-stakes cases.
Williams Isaacson
William (Bill) Isaacson is a veteran antitrust lawyer and co-founder of the new firm. He joined Paul Weiss from Boies Schiller Flexner and is known for his expertise in complex litigation.
Jessica Phillips
Litigator and co-founder. She joined Paul Weiss from Boies Schiller Flexner and has handled major cases for tech and media clients. A former Supreme Court clerk she was one of the profile first wave of Paul Weiss departures.
Kyle Smith:
Litigation partner who moved to Dunn Isaacson Rhee. Smith is Washington-based and has handled major litigation with clients like Uber and Amazon and was the fifth Paul Weiss partner to head for the exit.
Melissa Zappala:
She announced her move to the new firm on June 9 having joined Paul Weiss from Boies Schiller Flexner and was seconded to Apple as senior counsel. Zappala has represented Meta and Qualcomm and was involved in the major trial representing Uber in Waymo v. Uber, which was a hotly contested trade secrets case dealing with the future of self-driving cars.
Rush Atkinson
Rush Atkinson: Former DOJ lawyer and Mueller team member was a partner who only joined Paul Weiss as partner in February. He joined Paul Weiss in 2024 and is known for his work on high-profile investigations and worked for the Justice Department for 12 years, recently as associate deputy attorney general. Notably, he worked on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s controversial probe of the 2016 election.
Most of these lawyers previously worked together at Boies Schiller Flexner. They left that firm in 2020 after it faced criticism for its work with Harvey Weinstein and so they are clearly motivated by principle and ethical considerations beyond the pay checks.
Other Profile Departures
Other notable exits include Jeh Johnson, former Homeland Security Secretary, and Steven Banks, who led pro bono work at Paul Weiss.
Damian Williams, former US attorney for the Southern District of New York, (pictured) left for Jenner & Block.
Skadden also saw departures after its Trump deal. Kathleen Rubenstein, who ran the Skadden Foundation, resigned last week and certainly Paul Weiss is not the only profile firm to have suffered at the hands of the Trump pro bono deals.
Indeed, following the deal with the administration more than 170 Paul Weiss alumni also signed an open letter to Brad Karp, calling the decision to settle “cowardly” and adding that “the very independence of lawyers and the legal profession is at stake.”
Karp is doing his level best to keep his prestige firm away from being tarnished – and certainly away from severely reduced earnings.
