Right to left: Brad Karp, Chairman, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; Laurie Robinson Haden, Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, CBS Corporation; and Zachary Carter, Corporation Counsel, City of New York, at a panel titled “Getting on Equal Footing: Promoting Women’s Equality Through Business Development and Advancement Strategies” at the New York State Bar Association conference at the New York Hilton on Jan. 15, 2018. Photo: David Handschuh/NYLJ.
After close scrutiny of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in The New York Times, the firm’s chairman, Brad Karp, in a firmwide email Sunday took issue with the newspaper’s portrayal and told partners and employees that the firm’s diversity record has exceeded its peer firms.
Karp sent the internal email several hours after the Times published a report Sunday examining Paul Weiss’ diversity struggles, including the controversy generated by its promotion of a notably non-diverse new partner class last month. The Times report described obstacles for women and minority lawyers to succeed and be promoted at Paul Weiss, such as inconsistent approaches to mentoring, business development opportunities and client contact.
