Mind-Blowing Atlantic City, NJ, Schools Legal Bills [Photos]

We have citizen activist John Paff to thank for this. Atlantic City, New Jersey School Board Members have told me that even they couldn’t get copies of their own legal billing records.

For the first time ever, we can provide a window into just how much the taxpayers of Atlantic City are paying for legal expenses (see below, as we tell the story in photos).

Paff filed a request under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) for all attorney costs racked-up during the 10-year, former teacher Phil Eisenstein legal matter.

To date, Paff has received about 3 years worth of the Law Offices of Riley & Riley legal billing records.

There Appears To Be Missing Legal Bills

For example, there are legal bills from July, 2018 thru 2021 that are not included in the batch that we reveal for the first time (directly below).

The Law Offices of Riley & Riley previously filed three big motions on the docket during that time. Riley lost all three motions. The motions appeared to be borderline frivolous.

The biggest motion was a summary judgment motion. Riley’s summary judgment motion was extensive … likely 100 hours or more.

Once Eisenstein survived summary judgment, the case became a fee shifting case … which meant that the taxpayers would have to pay the plaintiff's attorney's fees and their own legal fees if the plaintiff won $1 dollar or more. There were no settlement discussions.

April, 2023 Appeal Costs

The 2023 appeal cost the taxpayers of Atlantic City approximately $ 44,000, following a 2 day trial.

In this setting, the Atlantic City Board of Education was the Appellee.

The Appellee is the winner of the trial, so they do not have to pay for transcripts. The transcripts were $ 10,0000 for a 2 day trial.

If the Board of Education decides to appeal tte most recent verdict won by Eisenstein, the taxpayers will have to pay for 8 days of trial transcripts which could be more than $ 30,000.

Also, the amount of work for the Appellant (the loser) at trial is at least 4 times the amount of work. If the ACBOE appeals it will cost them close to $ 150,000 with low chance of success.

Legal Billing Notes

In April, 2023 Riley billed 98.1 hours for the 2 day trial.

May, 2025, Riley billed 54.5 hours after the 8 day trial. The OPRA request was made before May billing was due. 620.9 hours showing.

Riley billing for their first two years appears to be a flat rate of $ 40,000 per-month. There were some extras.

It appears that Riley & Riley bills at the rate of $ 250 per-hour, although their bills do not provide an hourly rate breakdown.

The Massive Legal Costs Have Taken Place Over 10 Years & It Didn’t Have To Be This Way

The taxpaying public could have been spared having to pay such massive legal bills.

Eisenstein attorney John Swift has previously confirmed to us that the entire case “could have been settled for no cost,” said Swift.

The offer of zero cost to the taxpayers was available for years.

Instead, the taxpayers of Atlantic City are currently on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars in unnecessary legal expenses.

Here Are Copies Of Just Some Of The Riley & Riley Legal Bills — They Are Massive

We have obtained copies of billing records submitted by the Law Offices of Riley & Riley … from November, 2021 through May, 2025.

It represents less than 4 years of legal billing. This is only a fraction of the overall legal costs faced by the taxpayers of Atlantic City.

Harry Hurley photos.

I’m Not Accusing Anyone Of Criminality, However …

There must be a forensic audit of every legal billiing record from the past decade or more.

SOURCES: John Paff (OPRA request) & previous Harry Hurley interviews with John Swift, David Castelani & John Devlin.

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Gallery Credit: Harry Hurley

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