{"id":4163,"date":"2026-07-10T18:08:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T18:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4163"},"modified":"2026-07-10T18:08:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T18:08:02","slug":"exclusive-top-mta-lawyer-with-344k-salary-to-abruptly-resign-months-after-post-expose-on-agencys-wild-legal-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4163","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive | Top MTA lawyer with $344K salary to abruptly resign months after Post expos\u00e9 on agency’s wild legal costs"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The MTA\u2019s top lawyer is abruptly stepping down at the end of July with no successor immediately named \u2014 just months after The Post revealed the agency\u2019s legal costs ballooned under her tenure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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MTA General Counsel Paige Graves \u2014 who made nearly $100,000 more than Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2025 \u2014\u00a0 quietly announced her resignation in a June 30 email obtained by The Post.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter fourteen remarkable years with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, I have decided that the time has come for me to begin a new chapter,\u201d the email begins, noting that her last day with the agency will be July 31.<\/p>\n

Graves\u2019 departure caps a turbulent season for the transit authority\u2019s legal department, coming on the heels of a Post investigation in May that detailed how the allegedly cash-strapped agency has outsourced millions of dollars in legal work to high-priced private law firms.<\/p>\n

The MTA admitted it had paid more than $10 million to six law firms in recent years, but refused to reveal exactly how much in taxpayer cash was being used to pay outside lawyers to represent the agency.<\/p>\n

Insiders couldn\u2019t confirm the reason why Graves was leaving, but noted that the 30-day notice she gave was not typical.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems like she\u2019s been forced out,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n

Normally a departure from MTA executive leadership would be announced months ahead of time \u2014 alongside a widespread notice that would include the name of the staffer\u2019s successor, sources said.<\/p>\n

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The MTA did not immediately comment.<\/p>\n

Graves\u2019 June 30 email, with the subject like \u201cFarewell Announcement\u201d was only circulated to 50 recipients, and sources said few inside the agency were event aware that she was stepping down.<\/p>\n

The former Manhattan prosecutor has served as the MTA\u2019s legal leader since 2022, leading a team of 350 attorneys, and was paid over $344,000 in 2025, according to public records.<\/p>\n

By contrast, the governor\u2019s salary last year was $250,000, while MTA CEO Janno Lieber earned almost $470,000 in total pay, records show.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Graves, a graduate of the Wharton School and Hofstra Law School, also cut her teeth as a forensic litigation consultant at \u201cbig four\u201d accounting firm KPMG, and spent more than a decade climbing the legal ladder inside the public transit bureaucracy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She previously served as vice president and general counsel for the MTA Bus Company and had a two-year stint at the Long Island Rail Road before taking the reins of the main agency\u2019s legal arm.<\/p>\n

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The MTA\u2019s top lawyer is abruptly stepping down at the end of July with no successor immediately named \u2014 just months after The Post revealed the agency\u2019s legal costs ballooned under her tenure.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metro"],"yoast_head":"\nExclusive | Top MTA lawyer with $344K salary to abruptly resign months after Post expos\u00e9 on agency's wild legal costs - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4163\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Exclusive | Top MTA lawyer with $344K salary to abruptly resign months after Post expos\u00e9 on agency's wild legal costs - 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