Middletown School District Has Multiple Lawyers Representing It

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — The Middletown school board is still retaining the legal services of Cleary, Giacobbe, Alfieri & Jacobs law firm, while hiring Bruce Padula through his own firm.

It is not uncommon for school districts to have more than one law firm represent them on various different legal matters.

Multiple other lawyers, in other firms, represent Middletown in various cases related to special education, among other cases, said Board vice president Jacqueline Tobacco.

"Boards can appoint any attorney at any time for any reason. Boards contract with many attorneys. We have multiple firms under contract," she said Tuesday.

For the past several years, the law firm of Cleary, Giacobbe, Alfieri & Jacobs has represented the Middletown school district. Padula used to work for that law firm, and he was the lawyer assigned to Middletown.

In February, Padula left Cleary, Giacobbe, Alfieri & Jacobs and started his own firm, called Padula Law Group, LLC. At the recommendation of Board president Frank Capone, at their meeting last Friday the Middletown school board unanimously hired Padula to represent them for a five-month term, February 17, 2025 - June 30, 2025.

Initially, multiple board members accused Capone of trying to rush through the hiring of Padula. But the Board unanimously voted to hire him last Friday.

A public agenda item asking the Board to hire Padula through his own law firm did not say how much Padula will be paid. In response to an inquiry from Patch, Tobacco said he will be paid $185 an hour, the same rate he was paid when he was representing Middletown for Cleary, Giacobbe, Alfieri & Jacobs.

Board member Joe Fitzgerald previously said Monday he voted to hire Padula to keep him on certain cases Middletown is entangled in because "it would cost money to get (a new) lawyer up to speed. At the end of the day, we don't have the time or money to get a new lawyer."

That hourly rate of $185 Padula is being paid is the same amount the district would have paid a new lawyer at Cleary, Giacobbe, Alfieri & Jacobs to take over the cases Padula handled for Middletown.