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ProfessionalsBrad S. Karp

Brad S. Karp

Brad S. Karp

Chairman

Chairman

Tel: +1-212-373-3316
Fax: +1-212-492-0316
bkarp@paulweiss.com

+1-212-373-3316
New York

1285 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10019-6064
Fax: +1-212-492-0316

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Education 
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Bar Admissions 

Chairman of Paul, Weiss since 2008, Brad Karp is one of the country’s leading litigators and corporate advisers. Brad has successfully guided numerous Fortune 100 companies, global financial institutions and other companies through “bet the company” litigations, regulatory matters and internal investigations. Prior to being named chairman of the firm, Brad chaired the firm’s Litigation Department. Brad has spent his entire career at Paul, Weiss, beginning as a summer associate.

Brad is described by Chambers as “the best strategic adviser in the business” and “someone who every CEO in America should have on speed dial,” and by The New York Times as “the most connected lawyer in the country.” Brad has earned numerous accolades for his successful client representations and legal achievements and for his role as a leader in the legal profession, the business community and the public interest world. In 2019-20, Brad was recognized by the Financial Times with its Special Achievement Award for his legal achievements and leadership of Paul, Weiss, and was named the “Attorney of the Year,” a “Distinguished Leader,” and a “Trailblazer” by the New York Law Journal, “Litigator of the Year” by The American Lawyer, “Securities Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers, “Banking MVP of the Year” and “Sports MVP of the Year” by Law360, an “Equality Trailblazer” by the National Law Journal, and received the William Nelson Cromwell Award from the New York County Lawyers Association for his “unselfish service to the profession and the community."

EXPERIENCE

Brad has represented numerous Fortune 100 companies, major financial institutions, leading investment managers and other entities in their most business-critical and franchise-threatening matters. Brad’s record of success in multibillion-dollar litigations and arbitrations, dismissals of multibillion-dollar lawsuits, and appeals in state and federal court is unrivaled. In addition, Brad has successfully represented numerous corporations and others before state and federal regulatory and enforcement agencies, led dozens of internal investigations, and represented numerous board special committees.

Brad’s recent clients in significant commercial and regulatory matters and internal investigations include: Citigroup, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Bank of New York Mellon, UBS, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Signature Bank, Apollo Global Management, Blackstone Group, KKR, CBS, Facebook, AIG, GE, SoftBank, Citco, Fortress, Glencore, Deutsche Bank, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Deloitte, The National Football League, FIFA, Philadelphia 76ers, Xerox, Western Union, MacAndrews & Forbes, ING, Tishman-Speyer, AXA Equitable, General Atlantic, Oak Hill, Avenue Capital, Carlos Ghosn, Primerica, Autotrader, MagnaChip, Bloomberg, Ericsson, Sotheby’s, SS&C, Vivendi, Mutual of Omaha, GOL Airlines, Avenue Capital, Shinhan Bank, Mount Sinai Hospital, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Hospital for Special Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Quiñenco, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, Newmont Mining, Merck, Johnson & Johnson, SICPA, BB&T, Eton Park, Bowlmor, OneWest Bank, Columbia University, CIM Group, Pattern Energy, Zurich Capital and Aurora Bank.

INDUSTRY AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Chambers describes Brad as “the best strategic adviser in the business”; “someone who every CEO in America should have on speed dial”; “worth his weight in gold”; “a great oral advocate”; “a phenomenal thinker”; “brilliant”; “extraordinary”; “an utterly fantastic lawyer”; “without peer”; “a renowned litigator”; “the absolute best”; “the consummate client service lawyer”; “the most responsive lawyer in America”; and “beyond compare in terms of client service.” Chambers has designated Brad as a “Star” in multiple practice areas. Benchmark Litigation describes Brad as having “unbelievably great judgment”; “superior presence in the courtroom and the boardroom”; and as “the guy who makes every other litigator in this town consider just giving up and becoming a bus driver.” Best Lawyers describes Brad as “the most talented, responsive, client-sensitive, creative, effective lawyer of his generation in the country, no question.”

Brad has received numerous industry recognitions over the years. In 2019, Brad was selected as a “Trailblazer” and as a “Distinguished Leader” by the New York Law Journal, as an “Equality Trailblazer” by the National Law Journal, “Banking MVP of the Year” by Law360, and received the William Nelson Cromwell Award from the New York County Lawyers Association in recognition of his “unselfish service to the profession and the community.” In 2018, Brad received the Special Achievement Award from the Financial Times in recognition of his legal achievements and leadership of Paul, Weiss and was also named the “Attorney of the Year” by the New York Law Journal, “Litigator of the Year” by The American Lawyer, “Sports MVP of the Year” by Law360, and “Securities Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers. In 2017, Brad was selected as a “Litigation Trailblazer” by the National Law Journal and Best Lawyers’ “Banking Lawyer of the Year.” Brad’s successful representation of financial institutions and others was featured in a 2014 American Lawyer story in which Paul, Weiss was selected as the best securities litigation/regulatory firm in the United States and in an earlier cover story, “The Lifesavers,” in which Paul, Weiss was selected as the country’s best litigation firm. Brad has repeatedly been named by the National Association of Corporate Directors as one of the most influential people in the boardroom. In 2013, the New York Law Journal awarded Brad its first-ever Impact Award, in recognition of Brad’s “significant and lasting impact on the legal community in New York.” In 2013, Benchmark Litigation/Euromoney selected Brad as its “Litigator of the Year.” In 2012, the Financial Times selected Brad as one of the 10 most innovative lawyers in the United States. In 2011, Lawdragon selected Brad as its “Lawyer of the Year” and in 2015 named Brad as one of the “Legends in the Law.” Additional publications consistently rank Brad as one of the leading lawyers in the United States, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Crain’s New York Business, The Financial Times, The Lawyer (U.K.), The Legal 500, Euromoney Institutional Investors, Best of the Best USA and Benchmark/Institutional Investor.

WRITING/SPEAKING

Brad speaks and writes frequently on business litigation, securities litigation and corporate governance. He has spoken at more than 600 conferences and has lectured at Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Columbia Law School, NYU Law School and The Federal Judicial Center. Brad has written more than 600 articles on business litigation and corporate governance issues. For the past 35 years, Brad has written a monthly column for the New York Law Journal, “Second Circuit Review,” which analyzes developments in the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Brad is a frequent contributor to the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation. Brad has also spoken out and written about pressing issues of social justice. Earlier this year, Brad authored three op-eds concerning responses to the coronavirus pandemic: “We Need Obama, Bush and Clinton to Beat the Coronavirus” (March 2020, The American Lawyer); “The Legal Community Must Protect Workers and Small Businesses From Coronavirus Fallout” (March 2020, The American Lawyer); and “Protecting the Rule of Law in Times of Coronavirus” (April 2020, Bloomberg International). In 2018, Brad authored two op-eds in The New York Times, “Stop Shielding Gun Makers,” advocating changes to gun manufacturer liability laws, and “An Army of Lawyers for Migrants,” urging the private bar to address the unlawful treatment of immigrants and to seek the reunification of separated families. In 2018, Brad also authored an op-ed in the New York Law Journal, “Democracy Itself Is on the Ballot,” addressing voter suppression and disenfranchisement.

BOARDS AND OTHER PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Brad is active in the community, serving on 30 public interest and educational institution boards. Brad is the chairman of the Legal Action Center and a director/trustee of Mount Sinai Hospital Executive Committee, the Partnership for New York City (Executive Committee), the Harvard Law School Leadership Council, the Lincoln Center Business Advisory Council, the New York City Bar Association (Vice President), the American Constitution Society, Junior Achievement Worldwide, the Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession, the Union College Board of Trustees, Practicing Attorneys for Law Students Program, the Advisory Committee of the Citizens’ Committee for Children (Chair), the Leadership Council of the Legal Services Corporation, the Harvard Law School Visiting Committee, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Litigation Center, the Riverdale Country School, the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, American Friends of Hebrew University, the New York Bar Foundation, the Program Advisory Board of the Brennan Center for Justice, the Mark Messier Foundation, the Harvard Law School Alumni Advisory Board, the Court Square Law Project, the Best Lawyers Advisory Board, the Economic Club of New York, the Federal Bar Council Second Circuit Inn of Court, the Union College President’s Council, the United States Supreme Court Historical Society, and the NYU Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement. Brad is a founding member of the PwC Leaders Council examining financial services industry regulatory reform, and is a member of The New York City Bar Association Task Force on New Lawyers in a Changing Profession. Brad currently is chairing the 2017-20 (Bicentennial) Harvard Law School Annual Fund. Brad is a trustee of the JL Greene Foundation.

COMMUNITY AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

Brad has received numerous recognitions for his pro bono accomplishments and charitable service, including the Servant of Justice Award by the Legal Aid Society, the Judge Learned Hand Award by AJC, the Human Relations Award by the Anti-Defamation League, the Arthur Liman Public Interest Award by the Legal Action Center, the Pro Bono Award by the Pro Bono Partnership, the Torch of Learning Award by American Friends of Hebrew University, the Corporate Protector Award by the Citizens’ Committee for Children, the Extraordinary New Yorker Award by the JBFCS, the Joseph Proskauer Award by UJA, the Legal Advocate Award by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the Man of Distinction Award by Legal Momentum, the Impact Award by the New York Law Journal, the Pro Bono Partner Award by the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the Judge Simon Rifkind Award by The Jewish Theological Seminary, and the William Nelson Cromwell Award by the New York County Lawyers Association. Brad was scheduled to receive two additional awards this spring that have been rescheduled because of the pandemic: the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Corporate Advocacy & Vision by the Citizens’ Committee for Children, and the Burton Award for Law Firm Leadership by The Burton Foundation and the Library of Congress.

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