Beyond the Courtroom—Twins, Trades, and the Truth About “Full Coverage”

Introduction

In this episode of the Flager & Associates Personal Injury Hour, host Adam Flager is joined by regular guest Patrick Doherty of The Town Law LLC. What begins as a lighthearted discussion about the Phillies’ legendary (fictional) trade for Paul Skenes quickly pivots to a deeply personal and professional exploration of the legal world. From the life-changing news of twin daughters to the cultural complexities of representing a “United Nations” of clientele, this episode covers the human side of the law.

What’s Inside This Episode:

• The “Double Pea Pod” Surprise: Pat Doherty shares the harrowing and ultimately joyous story of the birth of his twin daughters, Nora and Brooke, and how fatherhood provides the ultimate “calm” after a stressful day in court.
• The Ethics of “The Slam Dunk”: Why do some attorneys reject cases that eventually settle for half a million dollars? Adam and Pat discuss the importance of doing the legwork and why “shopping a case” to ten different lawyers is usually a red flag.
• Cultural Competence in Law: Pat shares a fascinating story about representing a client from a culture where disciplinary norms and legal expectations (like “paying the judge”) differ vastly from the American system.
• The Insurance “Scam”: A deep dive into why “Full Coverage” is often a myth and why being “cheap” on your premiums—specifically regarding Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist coverage—can lead to financial ruin after a catastrophic injury.

Transcript

Date: May 14, 2025 Host: Adam Flager, Esq. Co-Host: Joe Dougherty Guest: Pat Doherty, Esq. (The Town Law LLC)

Joe Dougherty: All right, ladies and gentlemen, around the Delaware Valley, welcome to the Flager & Associates Personal Injury Hour here on WWDB Talk 860. We’re here with our host, Adam Flager. How are you, Adam?

Adam Flager: Doing well, despite this kind of gross weather. You know what’s funny? I was watching the ball games today, and this looks like it could be two rainouts in a row—three games total. The way baseball is, there are rarely any days off.

Joe Dougherty: It’s gonna be crazy if they don’t play today. They were supposed to have a doubleheader. Looking at the weather, I wondered how you play one, let alone two. Real point of interest—I’m not sure if you saw this, Pat—but the Pittsburgh Pirates just traded Paul Skenes to the Phillies for a minor leaguer to be named later.

Pat Doherty: He’s a prince artist! On my drive over here, I was talking to my brother about sports. We were talking about how many years it will be until the Pirates trade Paul Skenes because he’s going to be a Yankee, a Red Sox, a Dodger—one of the big market teams that’s going to pay him an exorbitant amount of money.

Joe Dougherty: By the time Paul Skenes stays… first of all, he’s the union rep. He became the union rep in his rookie year. He started in the minors, came up, and started the All-Star game after being in the majors for like two months. The dude is almost a legend if he stays healthy. You know who the highest-paid pitcher in history is? Zack Wheeler, at $42 million a year. And he’s in his mid-30s. By the time Skenes is on course, he’ll double that. He might be making $80 million a year. Hopefully, he stays in the state and the Phillies can get him.

I want to introduce Pat Doherty for people who have listened to the broadcast for the last couple of years. Pat has been a regular, had his own show, and is one of our criminal attorneys and personal injury experts. He does a fantastic job. Welcome back, Pat.

Pat Doherty: Thank you, Joe. It’s great to be back.

Joe Dougherty: We’re talking baseball and having fun, but here’s an interesting point: I couldn’t wait to see Pat because I knew him and his wife were having a baby. Shout out to Mrs. Doherty. Now, my last name is Dougherty—we’re not related, and it’s not spelled the same, but people say my name as “Doherty” all the time.

Pat Doherty: Spoiler alert, Joe—we probably are related. Just one “G” doesn’t change ancestry.com!

Joe Dougherty: So, Pat and the wife were having a baby. Pat, show me a picture and tell that great story.

Pat Doherty: My wife gave birth on February 24th of this year, 2025. When she first got pregnant, she was very sick. She called a doctor up in North Jersey, and the doctor said, “That’s common, it’s your first pregnancy.” She said, “No Doc, I’m really sick.” The doctor said if it’s more than normal, it could be bad news—the worst word you want to hear is “miscarriage.” We were prepared for that. She drove up to see the doctor while I was in court in Chester County on a big case. I get a text from her: “You’re not going to believe this.” I thought everything was okay, and she goes, “Well, sort of.” That’s even worse! I’m thinking, “Does the kid have two heads?” She sends me a picture of the ultrasound: two little pea pods. We were having twins!

We later found out the gender—we don’t do gender reveals with balloons and planes; it’s too much money. We were anticipating boys. I wanted to watch Rudy, Rocky, and Hoosiers with them. Sure enough, it was two girls. The joke is I prayed for an Irish son and I got two Italians! They are absolutely beautiful. Their names are Nora Margaret Doherty—named Margaret after my mom who passed away—and Brooke Rose Doherty. They’re healthy and happy.

Joe Dougherty: Healthy and happy is all that matters. It’s such a “desanitizer” because Adam, I’m sure you deal with it too—those phone calls that just drain you, clients who don’t understand the process. But when you go home and see those kids, there’s nothing better. Adam, how many kids do you have?

Adam Flager: Two. A boy and a girl.

Joe Dougherty: Okay, so he got the boy! We ought to get our kids together. Mine’s 39, so he might be a little old for a playdate—he charges for babysitting by the hour.

Adam Flager: It’s a nice thing because we have stressful jobs. No matter what age they are, they can be stressful, but there’s a calm they bring. You might be running around like crazy with court or client calls, and you see your kids—they don’t care what you do for a living. They just want to love you.

Joe Dougherty: One of the most interesting shows I ever did was with a client whose son was 18. We educated the son on what the dad does. The son said, “We know Dad can’t always come on outings because he’s working.” We talked about how you guys impact lives for people who can’t defend themselves. Adam, your dad’s side is from New York?

Adam Flager: Yeah, my dad’s side is from New York, but my little boy is all Philly. His bedroom is an Eagles shrine. He was born in 2018—the year they won the first one. My wife was 11 months pregnant when they won the Super Bowl! She started having contractions that night and gave birth two days later. The day after that was the parade. We were at the hospital in Center City and it was a zoo; nobody could get to us. We finally had a day to relax because the parade kept everyone away. We could see the parade from the room.

Joe Dougherty: Adam takes his son to all the Phillies and Eagles games. Here’s a question for both of you: You ever see that commercial where a kid from Duke knocks on the door for a date, and the whole family is wearing North Carolina jerseys? They just shut the door.

Or the one where a couple is on a first date, she’s driving, and asks where he’s from. He says “Michigan, Go Blue,” and she jumps out of the moving car! So, as outstanding attorneys, think about this: A million-dollar case walks in. They’re going to give you the million up front. But you find out it’s a Dallas Cowboys fan. Do you take the money?

Pat Doherty: Hey, if you don’t take it, someone else will! Better to take a Cowboys fan’s money so they have a little less.

Joe Dougherty: Our clientele is like the United Nations—all different colors, backgrounds, and nationalities. We got people from East Falls, the Middle East, all over. You learn about cultures and food.

Pat Doherty: I had a client recently charged with endangering the welfare of a child. He was from Vietnam. His kid didn’t do well on a spelling test, so he hit him. Someone reported it. I spoke to him and he had a puzzled look. He said, “I don’t understand. This is my culture. My father disciplined me; his father disciplined him.” The judge in the conference room said, “This is culture.” What he did was regrettable, but there was an ethnic element the DA wasn’t taking into account. You get a great cross-section of people. It reminds me of Pawn Stars—Rick Harrison says, “You never know what’s going to come through that door.”

Joe Dougherty: All knowledge is power. If I learn something random about a different country and then have a client from there, I can break the ice.

Pat Doherty: It goes deeper than our disdain for the Cowboys. I have clients from India and Pakistan—countries that have deep-seated issues. You have to connect with people who otherwise wouldn’t connect with each other.

Joe Dougherty: We need to reintroduce ourselves. Adam, remind the listeners about the firm.

Adam Flager: Adam Flager, Flager & Associates. Full-service personal injury firm. Motor vehicle, slip and fall, premises cases, dangerous products, dog bites. We don’t do birth injuries—that is so specialized you can’t casually dabble. You have to be all in. Our offices are in Trevose, Philadelphia, and Bucks County. 215-953-5200, flagerlaw.com.

Pat Doherty: Patrick Doherty, one of the founders of The Town Law LLC. One Liberty Place, 36th floor. Primary criminal defense and personal injury. 215-307-5504.

Joe Dougherty: This culture conversation is important. Building trust with immigrants or foreign cultures is a challenge. Pat, you told a story about a client asking to pay the judge?

Pat Doherty: Yeah, he flat out said, “Can we just give money to the judge?” He said where he’s from, if you pay, it goes away. I said if that was the case, my life would be much easier! But it was a genuine question.

Adam Flager: We have a municipal practice and our attorney Scott Hulbert kept getting jobs cleaning up messes in Luzerne County with the “Cash for Kids” scandal. When judges take kickbacks to send kids to private prisons for lightweight offenses, it’s a scandal. Our country is great because that’s not how we do it.

Pat Doherty: My license is not worth $10,000. It’s not even worth a million. One time I joked with my dad, who was the head of a union. I said, “Hey Dad, write me out a check for 10 grand.” He said, “It might as well be a million, because we’re both going to jail!”

Joe Dougherty: I once got a call from a big developer who wanted to pay me to “navigate zoning” using my contacts. I immediately called the head of the union community. It was the smartest thing I ever did because he was trying to skip around the union leadership. If it seems too good to be true, it is.

Pat Doherty: Like The Godfather—when the Turk offers a deal, the Godfather asks, “To what do I owe this generous offer?” If a client says, “I have a slam dunk case,” what do you think?

Adam Flager: It’s probably not a slam dunk, and I’m probably the tenth person they’ve called.

Joe Dougherty: I had a friend who wanted to sue for medical malpractice because a doctor missed a round. I had to tell him he probably didn’t have a case. How many people walk in thinking they have a case when they don’t?

Adam Flager: You have to do the legwork upfront. Sometimes a firm rejects a case because it’s too small for them. I had a case recently that a big firm rejected; we settled it for $500,000. Happy to have that all day long. But if someone has been to ten attorneys, that’s a red flag.

Pat Doherty: I’ll tell a client, “You don’t have a case, and here’s why.” I take the time to have that conversation even though I’m not making money.

Joe Dougherty: I knew a guy on workers’ comp who was suicidal because he couldn’t get a malpractice lawyer to listen to him. I got an attorney to explain why he didn’t have a case. The guy was so relieved just because someone listened and explained it to him.

Adam Flager: A lot of attorneys would charge $500 for a consultation. We offer it for free.

Pat Doherty: People choose cheap insurance because they don’t think an accident will happen to them. It’s like not bringing an umbrella—then it rains.

Adam Flager: I have clients with “limited tort” whose injuries aren’t “severe” enough to get over the legal hurdle, so I can’t get money for them. I tell them to switch their insurance immediately. Car insurance is often an afterthought. Brokers just quote a price and say, “You’re fully covered,” but they don’t explain that the insurance company will fight you to the death.

Joe Dougherty: This was the absolute fastest hour in radio. Shout out to the beautiful twin girls, Nora and Brooke. Shout out to our producer Eric, Adam Flager, and Pat Doherty. Thanks for listening.