Spencer Kuvin, Litigation Director with the Law Offices of Craig Goldenfarb. Courtesy photo. Spencer Kuvin, litigation director with the Law Offices of Craig Goldenfarb. Courtesy photo.

Disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein seemed to think he was the smartest man in the room and repeatedly corrected his own lawyers as he faced the early rounds of civil lawsuits by women accusing him of sexual abuse, according to a Florida lawyer involved in that litigation.

West Palm Beach attorney Spencer T. Kuvin sat across the room from Epstein’s counsel more than a decade ago, representing three of the more than two dozen women who brought civil complaints against Epstein between 2008 and 2009.

What he saw was a complex character, who seemed at once charming and off-putting, according to Kuvin, litigation director of the Law Office of Craig Goldenfarb.

“Whenever [Esptein's] lawyers would try to discuss the case, he would always try to interject, and he would even correct his own lawyers,” Kuvin said. “Even within his own law team, he felt he was smarter than them.”

Robert D. Critton Jr. of Critton, Luttier & Coleman in West Palm Beach served as one of Epstein’s local attorneys at that time. He did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.

Another of Epstein’s lawyers, Michael J. Pike of Pike & Lustig in Miami, was opposing counsel against Kuvin. Pike declined to discuss his impressions of Epstein, saying that attorney-client privilege survived, even after his former client’s death.

But according to Kuvin, Epstein exuded an air of superiority. Although Epstein was quiet, Kuvin said, preferring to sit back and listen to conversations, he’d regularly jump into conversations among the attorneys.

To Kuvin, it seemed the wealth manager-turned-convicted sex offender wanted “everyone to be his friend,” and would brag about the high-profile people in his social circle, including scholars and university professors.

“He was always pleasant in demeanor and had a friendly type of personality,” Kuvin said. “That was never the issue. And I think he was a smart individual. I don’t think he was as smart as he thought he was, but he was very pleasant, very quiet, very soft-spoken, and he would always try to smile and be friendly with people.”

That said, Kuvin said he also got the impression that Epstein was a “creepy individual,” who allegedly tied to befriend and curry favor with his alleged victims.

The lawsuits, which settled, alleged Epstein had sexually assaulted and abused underage girls. They came after Epstein, a financier who has homes in Manhattan and South Florida, pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to procuring a minor for prostitution and felony solicitation of prostitution.

Epstein served 13 months in Palm Beach County jail and was later placed on work release as part of a now-infamous plea deal. At the time of his death, Epstein was on trial in New York on charges of child sex trafficking and conspiracy.

One of Kuvin’s former clients was among the first accusers to come forward, prompting Palm Beach County police to investigate Epstein. This led to Kuvin being among the first attorneys to take Epstein’s deposition.

It was the quickest deposition of Kuvin’s career.

The brief exchange ending abruptly in response to Kuvin’s question about whether Epstein’s penis was oval-shaped, as one alleged victim had claimed.

Click here to watch the 2009 Epstein deposition, with attorneys Spencer Kuvin questioning Epstein, while defense counsel Michael Pike objected

“It lasted all of a minute,” Kuvin said. “[Epstein] got up and walked out, and the judge sanctioned him $800 and made him return.”

Epstein faced both criminal charges and civil litigation at the time of his death. He’d already settled cases in state and federal court in Florida years earlier for undisclosed sums, and attorneys were pressing ahead with new actions.

Epstein had more than $500 million in assets when he was arrested, according to prosecutors, which could become vulnerable to lawsuits in the coming months.

 

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