Goldman’s Top Lawyer Kathryn Ruemmler Resigns After DOJ Epstein Files

Kathryn Ruemmler resigned as Goldman Sachs’s top lawyer after the Department of Justice released files linking her to Jeffrey Epstein, a development that immediately refocused scrutiny on the bank’s legal leadership and reputational risk oversight. The resignation will take effect June 30, 2026, and was reported in mid-February.

The DOJ release included emails, text messages and photographs that, according to the material, showed an extensive relationship between Ruemmler and Epstein. The files include multiple messages in which a “Kathy Ruemmler” referred to Epstein as “Uncle Jeffrey” and a January 2019 line that reads, “Am totally tricked out by Uncle Jeffrey today! Jeffrey boots, handbag, and w=tch!” Other documents contain handwritten notes from law enforcement that suggest Epstein called Ruemmler’s phone the night he was taken into custody on July 6, 2019. The disclosed items also list gifts such as flowers, wine, a Hermès bag, $10,000 in Bergdorf Goodman gift cards and an Apple Watch.

Goldman CEO David M. Solomon accepted the resignation and praised Ruemmler’s contributions, thanking her for “sound advice” and calling her “a mentor and friend to many of our people.” Ruemmler said in a statement, “My responsibility is to put Goldman Sachs’s interests first.” A spokesperson for Ruemmler told CNN that the senior lawyer “has done nothing wrong,” “has nothing to hide” and that nothing in the record “suggests otherwise.” A Goldman spokesman pushed back in public remarks, saying, “It's well known that Epstein often offered unsolicited favours and gifts to his many business contacts.”

Ruemmler’s exit comes amid a wider chain of high-profile departures tied to the DOJ material and follows the ouster of another prominent Wall Street lawyer a week earlier. Internally, senior partners had publicly stood behind Ruemmler in recent days; firm leadership kept her visible at a partner retreat in Miami’s South Beach, and her sudden decision to step down surprised many inside the bank.

For employees, the immediate implications are practical and cultural. The general counsel’s office handles litigation strategy, regulatory responses and client-facing legal work; an abrupt leadership transition will strain workloads in legal, compliance and reputational risk teams and could delay decisions on high-stakes matters. Junior lawyers and in-house counsel may face heightened media and regulatory requests, while deal teams and client relationship managers will need coordinated messages to limit client anxiety. The reputational risk committee, which Ruemmler co-chaired or vice-chaired, will lose an experienced hand during a period when its mandate is especially active.

Questions remain about precise details in Ruemmler’s record. Public reports differ on whether she became general counsel in 2020 or 2021, and she has maintained that she never represented Epstein as a legal client while acknowledging she regretted ever knowing him. What comes next for Goldman is succession and stability: identifying interim leadership for the legal team, managing increased regulatory and media attention, and reassuring clients and staff that day-to-day legal and compliance work will continue without interruption.