The show hosts, Patrick T. Doherty, Esq. and professional radio host Joe Dougherty, enjoyed a lively discussion with Mr. Alston. The program discusses unique aspects of ThePhillyLawyers and our legal team—Emmett Madden, Andrew Alston, Megan Harkins, and Mindy Torjman.
Enjoy a listen here to get a sense of how ThePhillyLawyers is different from other law firms.
ThePhillyLawyers brings a personalized approach to client representation. We really get to know our clients. We learn about our clients’ individual, human stories. While our representation is typically sought out after an individual suffers an extreme life event, we dig deeper to understand that one event is not the full story. Our holistic approach means that we walk in the shoes of our clients. We invest time and energy in learning about our clients—their backgrounds, their present conditions, and their future aspirations. What barriers exist and how can we reduce the barriers to get our clients to where they wish to be. We get to know their families, their suffering, their conditions, and we come up with creative ways to help make their lives better. Each of our clients brings a human story. We listen, we ask questions, we investigate. And then we bring our clients’ human story alive through our dynamic and creative representation.
We use our personalized approach to win the highest possible settlements or trial judgments in civil personal injury cases. Similarly, we use this personalized approach to secure justice for our criminally charged clients.
With our client-centered approach, not only do our clients feel seen and understood, but our understanding helps affect the best possible outcomes for our clients. When we think about doctors, we frequently talk about the doctors’ bedside manner. How does the doctor interact with their patients? Does the doctor rush in, do a cursory examination, and then rush to a judgment without ever really listening to his/her patient and learning their history? Does the doctor miss issues or give incorrect diagnoses? Certainly, no patient who wants the best medical outcome should work with a doctor with a poor bedside manner. Similarly, in our legal representation, ThePhillyLawyers prides ourselves on having the best bedside manners. We are relatable and compassionate. We are accessible and trustworthy strategists. We earn our clients’ trust from the beginning, and, after the legal issue is resolved, we have earned our clients’ praise.
ThePhillyLawyers brings persuasive, cutting-edge use of visuals to our client representation. Mr. Alston was also asked to talk about ThePhillyLawyers unique use of visuals in the courtroom. We are the forefront of the persuasive use of visuals. In fact, Mr. Alston is frequently invited to lecture on these topics at legal advocacy programs—such as the National Institute of Trial Advocacy—and various continuing legal education programs and law school trial advocacy programs.
ThePhillyLawyers brings its unique approach of thorough preparation and top-level advocacy to client representation. Another topic explored during the radio program was how clients will do best to hire the most talented and most persuasive attorney rather than the most (paid-for) advertised. The bought-and-paid-for billboard and television advertisements by certain law firms claiming to be the most aggressive or the largest or some other superlatives about the biggest cash recoveries for other clients are ridiculous claims. That is, such claims have nothing to do with helping the individual clients suffering catastrophic personal injuries.
When an injured person is trying to find “the right lawyer” it is very difficult for injured people bombarded by over-advertised personal injury attorneys/firms to really find the right lawyer for them. As the program discusses, an injured person should pause and consider what they really need. That is, what will best serve your individual client interests? A big billboard or television commercial will do nothing to get you what you need. Rather, what a seriously injured client needs is to hire the law firm that will best-know each individual client’s life story and apply the appropriate skills to win the best outcome. The skills needed are high-level legal representation based in thorough preparation, top-quality writing, talented oral advocacy, and persuasive visuals. That intelligent recipe is exactly what ThePhillyLawyers, as a boutique firm, consistently brings to our clients.
Check out our 5-star reviews on Google to get a sense of our satisfied clients. If you, or your family member needs our services, call ThePhillyLawyers today at (215) 884-9300.
Emmett Madden is excited to have been appointed to the Montgomery County Public Defender advisory board. He is hoping to contribute to building a strong public defender office, and helping to raise the standards county wide for public service and criminal defense.
Below is a multi-page article from The Pottstown Mercury:
Advisory-boardI am a 26-year Jenkintown resident, past Jenkintown Borough council member, past volunteer coach, local lawyer, and local law firm owner in Jenkintown, PA. In 2024, the current Magisterial District Judge, Elizabeth McHugh of local court 38-1-02 intends to retire. Montgomery County Court Administration has announced plans to eliminate and consolidate her Court with neighboring Abington and Cheltenham courts. I intend to run for this Judgeship, hoping to continue serving my community as judge, and keep this Court open. I oppose the closure of this Court, and I ask that you also oppose its closure. Court 38-1-02 is an important community resource, and its closure negatively impacts not only Jenkintown, but also Abington and Cheltenham. Let me explain why.
(more…)ThePhillyLawyers is proud to announce R. Emmett Madden has been named as a 2021 Pennsylvania Super Lawyer, an honor received since 2010. After a difficult start to the decade for so many, we are excited for the roaring 20’s to take off in full swing. Emmett is here for you, whatever life hands you next.
ThePhillyLawyers focuses on criminal defense and personal injury.
Super Lawyers is a research-driven, peer-influenced rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Attorneys are selected from more than 70 practice areas and all firm sizes, assuring a credible and relevant annual list.
The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes:
This is an exclusive list, recognizing no more than five percent of attorneys in Pennsylvania.
ThePhillyLawyers is grateful for this honor.
We are pleased to announce that Emmett Madden of ThePhillyLawyers has been selected to the 2020 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list. This is an exclusive list, recognizing no more than five percent of attorneys in Pennsylvania.
Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, is a research-driven, peer-influenced rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Attorneys are selected from more than 70 practice areas and all firm sizes, assuring a credible and relevant annual list.
The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes:
The objective of the Super Lawyers lists is to create a credible, comprehensive, and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys to be used as a resource for both referring attorneys and consumers seeking legal counsel.
ThePhillyLawyers is grateful for this honor.
Prior to the outbreak of Covid-19, 2020 has been a banner year for ThePhillyLawyers where we achieved over $1.5 million in personal injury settlements. We continue to maintain offices in Philadelphia and Montgomery County, practicing both criminal defense and plaintiff personal injury.
In addition, in 2019, Margeaux Cigainero joined the law firm. Margeaux has a long history of working for such esteemed attorneys as the late Nori Gellman. Margeaux specializes in appellate criminal actions, P.C.R.A. Petitions, and other state and federal litigation. Margeaux is bilingual, as is attorney Emmett Madden.
Other exciting news for 2020 include: ThePhillyLawyers is expanding its outreach into the Spanish-speaking communities of Pennsylvania. As a bilingual and bicultural law firm, our attorneys understand not only the Spanish language, but the needs of Spanish-speaking people throughout Pennsylvania. Whether they have a car accident, immigration problem, criminal defense concern, or any other issues faced by Latinos in Philadelphia area, ThePhillyLawyers has a long history of understanding and appreciating the nuanced issues faced by Latinos and helping advocate for them like no other firm in Pennsylvania. Se hablo Espanol is more than just a statement that our attorneys speak Spanish, it is a commitment to justice for Latinos.
If you have gone to court in Pennsylvania and succeeded in obtaining a money judgment against an individual, you are known as a “judgment creditor,” and you are faced with the challenge of trying to collect on the money that the law says you are owed.
One of the ways that judgment creditors may try to get paid is to use their judgment to require that the employer of the person who owes them the money pay them some of that person’s wages. This process is known as “wage attachment,” and it is often one of the first methods that judgment creditors will consider because it requires relatively little investigation. It is usually much easier to know where the person who owes you money works than it is to know, for example, where he or she does his or her banking. It is also usually much easier for a person to change their bank account than it is to change his or her employer.
Unfortunately, wage attachment can only be used in very limited situations in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania statutory law states that an individual’s wages, salaries, and commissions are generally exempt from attachment—that is, they generally cannot be claimed or seized by a judgment creditor—while the funds remain in the hands of the employer, except where a few specific exceptions apply.
The first category of exceptions relate to judgments and orders for child support, spousal support, and other divorce-related obligations.
The second category of exceptions is for judgments for monies owed under residential leases (such as claims for unpaid rent or damage to rented property), and judgments for monies owed due to you providing up to four weeks’ worth of “board” to the judgment debtor while he or she was staying on your property (such as meals, laundry, and housekeeping), whether or not you did so under a lease.
The third category of exceptions is for judgments relating to student loan collection by state agencies.
The fourth category of exceptions is for judgments for the payment of restitution to crime victims or for the payment of other costs, fines or bail judgments related to a criminal proceeding.
Thus, unless the money judgment that you obtained against an individual relates to divorce proceedings, residential lease or boarding situations, or monies owed to you as a result of a criminal proceeding, you will not be able to order the employer of the judgment debtor to pay a portion of the debtor’s wages to you as the judgment creditor.
Judgment creditors who do not have the option of wage attachment can consider several other ways of attempting to collect on their judgment, such as:
Judgment collection is a specialized process that involves many considerations. We recommend that any person or company that is involved in collecting a judgment, or who is thinking about beginning to collect a judgment, consult with a well-qualified attorney who is experienced in litigating judgment collection proceedings.
If you co-own one or more parcels of real estate in Pennsylvania with other people who are not your spouse, and you’re ready to part ways with them, the law does provide a method for splitting up your property and recovering your investment. This method is called a legal claim for “partition.”
A partition action, if successful, results in some form of division of the property, which can take the form of:
Partition claims are often brought by people who inherit a partial interest in a property, people who have purchased a property as an investment with others (but did not create a separate legal entity in the process of doing so), and people who purchased property together in the context of a personal relationship or a family relationship other than marriage. However, partition claims do not require any specific form of relationship among the co-owners, and they can be brought by anyone who owns a property jointly with someone else who is not his or her spouse.
In a partition claim, a court determines whether the co-owners of a property can divide that property and, if so, what each person is entitled to receive. A claimant for partition starts the action by filing a complaint with the court in the county in which the property is located. The complaint identifies the property at issue, the claimant, the nature of his or her ownership interest in that property, and all the other people who also have interests in the same property. Presuming that everything is in order procedurally, the court then generally enters an order that directs the property to be divided among its co-owners in some way.
Once the partition order is entered, the court directs the parties or their lawyers to participate in a mandatory preliminary conference to consider how the property should be partitioned, whether the parties can agree on a plan to partition the property, and whether the court should appoint an experienced person called a “master” to supervise the partition. Most cases that do not settle at this stage have a master appointed.
Once appointed, a master has many powers, including the ability to investigate the facts relating to the property, conduct hearings to resolve any disputed facts, and hire experts like title agents and real estate appraisers. The master’s fees are paid by all the parties to the action, as are the fees of any experts that are hired by the master. Those fees can be paid while the litigation is ongoing, at the end of the case, or some combination of the two.
The master is obligated to prepare a report to the Court that includes his or her recommendations for how to partition the property, and what each party should receive from the division of the property. The law obligates the court (or the master, if appointed) to give preference to physically dividing the property, but that if that is not possible, then enabling a transaction among the co‑owners, if possible, such as a buy‑out. If the co-owners are unable to divide the property among themselves, however, then the property can be sold to third parties, whether at a public auction or through a private sale.
Because a partition proceeding is equitable in nature, the court (and the master, if any) can consider many issues of fairness when trying to determine the value of each person’s interest in the property, including, among other things:
Eventually, once the necessary issues are addressed by the master or by the court, a court order is entered that directs how the partition of the property is to be completed. There are several opportunities for the parties to object to the process, both before that order is entered and after. Because partition is a court-ordered proceeding, the court’s approval is required before any transactions are finalized.
Partition of real estate is a specialized proceeding that involves many considerations. We strongly recommend that any person who is involved in a partition proceeding, or who is thinking about starting a partition proceeding, consult with a well-qualified attorney who is experienced in litigating these kinds of real estate disputes.
We often receive inquiries from business owners who have been sued in Pennsylvania or are thinking about filing a lawsuit in Pennsylvania—asking whether it is legally permissible for an owner or officer of the business to represent the business in court without a lawyer. The answer to this question depends on (1) the type of business that you have, and (2) the court in which your business is being sued.
If your business is a sole proprietorship—that is, if your business is simply you, operating under your own name (for example, a house painting business where the checks are paid to “Mary Smith”), or if your business is you, operating under a legally registered business name (for example, a similar house painting business, but where the checks are paid to “Smith Painting,” the name under which Mary Smith legally does business)—then the true party before the court is you as an individual. Because there is no separate legal entity involved, you can legally represent yourself in court without a lawyer, even though you are being sued about a matter involving your business.
If your business is a general partnership, a limited partnership (“LP”), or a limited liability partnership (“LLP”), a general partner who is authorized to conduct the business of your partnership may legally represent the partnership without a lawyer, but the limited partners may not.
If your business is an entity with a separate legal existence, such as a corporation or a limited liability company (“LLC”) registered to do business in Pennsylvania, then the business must, as a matter of law, be represented in court by an attorney unless a specific exception applies. In a civil case, any filing made on behalf of a corporation or LLC by someone other than a lawyer is a legal nullity that can and must be disregarded by the court because the court lacks jurisdiction to consider any claims or defenses raised by a non-attorney.
There are three common exceptions to the rule that a business that is a separate legal entity must be represented in court by a lawyer.
First, certain minor courts in Pennsylvania that are designed to adjudicate small civil claims, such as the Magisterial District Courts and the Philadelphia Municipal Court, have rules that permit businesses to be represented by non‑lawyers. Those courts may have procedural rules that require the business to provide specific written authorization for the non-lawyer representative to appear for the business in court.
Second, a non-attorney may legally represent a business in certain administrative proceedings, such as a hearing before a referee of Pennsylvania’s unemployment compensation board.
Third, an exception exists for a rare and complex type of case known as a stockholder derivative action.
Of course, the question of whether it is legally possible for your business to be represented by a non‑lawyer is very separate and different from the question of whether it is wise, or a good idea, to allow your business to be represented in court without a lawyer. We strongly recommend that any business that is involved in a court proceeding, or any business that is thinking about starting a court proceeding, consult with a well-qualified attorney who is experienced in litigating business disputes. What you don’t know about court procedures and the intricacies of the law can, and often will, hurt your business.
