Goldman Sachs’ chief legal officer Kathy Ruemmler is resigning from the bank amid scrutiny over her ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Recently released documents from the US Department of Justice showed Ruemmler had accepted gifts from Epstein and had advised him on how to respond to media questions about his crimes.
Speaking to the Financial Times, which was first to report her resignation, she said: “I made the determination that the media attention on me, relating to my prior work as a defence attorney, was becoming a distraction.”
Her resignation is effective from 30 June, according to a person familiar with the situation.
In a statement, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said: “Throughout her tenure, Kathy has been an extraordinary general counsel, and we are grateful for her contributions and sound advice on a wide range of consequential legal matters for the firm. As one of the most accomplished professionals in her field, Kathy has also been a mentor and friend to many of our people, and she will be missed. I accepted her resignation, and I respect her decision.”
Ruemmler joined Goldman Sachs in 2020 as global head of regulatory affairs before being promoted to CLO and general counsel in 2021. She was previously a litigation partner at Latham & Watkins for almost six years, having worked as White House counsel during the Obama administration before that.
Ruemmler also had two spells at the DOJ, first as assistant US attorney for the District of Columbia – during which time she was deputy director of the Enron Task Force – and then another spell as principal associate deputy attorney general after spending two years at Latham during her first stint at the firm.
Earlier in her career, she worked as associate counsel to the president during the final year of the Clinton administration. She started her private practice career at Zuckerman Spaeder.
Speaking to Reuters earlier this month she said she was a defence attorney when she got to know Epstein and that she had “no knowledge of any ongoing criminal conduct on his part and I did not know him as the monster he has been revealed to be”.
Also this month, Paul Weiss chairman Brad Karp also stepped down from his leadership role at the firm over his relationship with Epstein.
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