Rachel K. Fitzgerald

Rachel K. Fitzgerald

also known as Fitzgerald Law Firm

3.6
Rating: 6.6

Licensed for 21 years

Workers compensation Lawyer at Appleton, WI
Practice Areas: Workers Compensation, Social Security

304 N. Appleton St., Appleton, WI

About Rachel

Biography

Fees and Rates

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Licenses

Licensed in Wisconsin for 21 years

State: Wisconsin

Acquired: 2004

Resigned

No misconduct found

Location

Fitzgerald Law Firm

304 N. Appleton St., Appleton, WI, 54911

Fitzgerald Law Firm

211 N Broadway, Suite #212, Green Bay, WI, 54303

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Rachel K. Fitzgerald's Reviews

Avvo Review Score

3.7 /5.0

17 Client Reviews

Filter Avvo Reviews (17) Refine reviews to match your needs. Use the filters to quickly surface reviews that align with your case or priorities.

Showing 1 - 5 of 6 reviews | Lawsuits & Disputes

Posted by Tom | September 11, 2023 | Hired Attorney | Lawsuits & Disputes

How I got my life back on track.

I had a previous Attorney with little results after 2 yrs on the case. I had more progress from Fitzgerald Law in two weeks . Very professional and efficient staff. They were very good with communication. I have highly recommend them to family and friends. My case has not been completed, but I am v...ery happy so far.

Posted by Michelle | December 17, 2020 | Hired Attorney | Lawsuits & Disputes

Worker Compensation

I had previously hired a different attorney out of Milwaukee and I was highly unsatisfied with this representation. I stubbled across Attorney Fitzgerald’s Facebook post so I set up a consultation and was very pleased with her recommendations regarding my very complicated case. She was always incredi...bly professional and quick to respond to my questions. 95 % of the time Attorney Fitzgerald personally responded not an assistant, however, her assistants were absolutely wonderful as well. Not only did my case end favorably it’s end value was almost double what my prior attorney was willing to fight for. Attorney Fitzgerald is knowledgeable and extremely dedicated to fighting for all you deserve. Highly recommend her!

Posted by anonymous | December 16, 2020 | Hired Attorney | Lawsuits & Disputes

Big Talk but Little Action

I hired attorney Fitzgerald for what she strongly described as an open and shut case. When I first met Ms. Fitzgerald, her confidence and warm welcoming staff gave me assurance that my case would not take long to resolve. I left her office feeling good about things which was short lived. After return...ing paperwork what started as good communication became long drawn out months of unanswered emails and delayed responses to phone calls. When I finally was able to connect and set up an in person meeting, I unfortunately overheard a hallway conversation to my dismay. I over heard my attorney telling a partner, whom she kissed by the way, that foot injuries aren't worth much and she was considering dumping my case. I did not address it with her, hoping she had not been discussing my case at the time. When my court date came around she was over 20 mins late and she attempted to make multiple excuses to the judge prior to him then rescheduling. After we walked out I expressed my disappointment to which I received a very snotty response of her indicating my case was not worth her while and she would be withdrawing later that day. I was grateful at the time as she no longer was my attorney but as soon as I won my case with another attorney she made sure to file an attempt on backpay requesting 20% of my awarded totals. I was completely in shock as she had not done anything on my case and my new attorney had done an impeccable job taking care of things. Although her request was declined by the judge she had choice words with my current attorney that were of little grace. Do not select her as your attorney as she presents as a strong, confident lawyer but in the end falls short and will still attempt to take your money, along with rightfully awarded attorney fees that were well deserved by my attorney that actually worked on my case. I gave her 2 stars on my review as her office was at least competent enough to file my initial papers with the court system.

Posted by Nicole | February 28, 2020 | Hired Attorney | Lawsuits & Disputes

shady as the don't come-gift that keeps on giving

I hoped my nightmare with Atty Fitzgerald ended 11/2017 when she voluntarily withdrew from my case but she is still haunting my case to this day by substantially delaying my benefits with false fee claims that the judge ruled against over eight months ago. Know that if you hire her and she loses (whi...ch is quite likely since she will quite early on) she will always be part of your case and delay your entitlements as long as possible. In June 2016, I hired Atty Fitzgerald to represent me in an SSDI claim and specifically asked her if he handled appeals and federal court, she said yes. She also suggested that I linger in the hallway to overhear some of her other clients hearings so I would know what to expect at my hearing. A week prior to my hearing in 2017, the jugde's office contacted me asking about missing records which Atty Fitzgerald had but didn't submit. When I inquired with her staff about the missing records they told me not to worry about it and she wold take care of it at the hearing. Minutes prior to my hearing (which she was 15 minutes late) she asked if I would accept her withdraw as she wansn't prepared. The judge denied her request and ruled my case unfavorable. Atty Fitzgerald imediately sent me a letter withdawing from my case although she "believed it had merit with the Appeals Counsel" and included other attorneys that might assist me further. Fast forward to 6/2019, my new attorney won in both federal court and a remand hearing at which point Atty Fitzgerald filed a fee petition for 25% of my back pay (which at that point was substantial since she tanked my original hearing and it took three years to resolve). The judge denied her fee petition for several reasons, most importantly that she volunitarily withdrew as such SSA had no authority to pay. Further more her billing was "frivolous and excessive". He outlined that she could take me to small claims court for the minimal reasonable charges, but she didn't do that she appealed to the federal level. In a nutshell, had she done her job right the first time she would have been awarded fairly roughly 4k............but she tanked it and bailed out leaving me scrambling for another three years fighting for benefits and once I became entitled to them, all the while she was a ghost, she froze them up for over nine months preventing both my current attorney who legitimately should get paid and me hanging dry...........this matters on a moral level but also on a housing level as well. How many of us need these benefits and while the SSA takes long, this attorney in particular makes the process longer. See it's clear that she makes more money the longer the claim is in process since she gets a percentage of the back-pay, so it's obvious that she will sabatoge a case early then let another fight for it, only to shark back later to drink the blood which she could have prevented in the first place........but why would she when the system allows her to maliciously manipulate it? She has zero regard for clients nor the taxpayers, her only favorable reviews are for LTD............do not hire her for SSA or SSDI claims. Further, I know from being contacted by the State Bar that I am not the only one to suffer her immoral negligence, but she's good about hiding reviews and reaching out for five star ratings. So I hope this one isn't censored as many others have been.

Posted by S | January 05, 2018 | Hired Attorney | Lawsuits & Disputes

If you want a lawyer who keeps you informed, answers your questions, respects your requests. I would look elsewhere

Looking for a Workers Comp Lawyer… I would NOT hire Rachel Fitzgerald from Fitzgerald and Bomier, After being injured at work (I had back surgery as a result). I hired Rachel Fitzgerald to represent me. She seemed very nice, caring and receptive when I first spoke with her, even returning my call a...lmost immediately to answer more questions. However that all changed the minute I signed the contract with her. She was my lawyer for approximately 16 months and I can count the number of times I spoke with her on one hand. And believe it or not, the case is over but I never once, met her. Her way of keeping me updated was to send me correspondence in the mail, (usually a copy of something I was sent by someone else already) no explanation as to what it was or what it meant. As for other communication, there was none, if I called her I only got to speak to one of her assistants, rarely ever her. (unless I got mad and demanded it, then it was as if I was putting her out, to have to waste her time with me). I wasn’t told what my case might be worth until a week before it settled, then I was given only a couple days to decide if I were going to except the offer. On top of bad communication, she did not respect my requests. I had asked for things to be emailed, not sent via usps, (I live in a small town and didn’t want everyone knowing my business) this was NOT done. In the beginning I was worried that I shouldn’t hire a lawyer because once the case was settled I feared I would end up owing money. After all, once she got her expenses 1st, then her 20%, then I paid my insurance company back, out of the remaining amount, I would have nothing left. Might as well just take what workers comp offered, but I was told uncontested amounts and doctor bills are not considered when lawyers take their 20%. I was also told that workers comp would probably deny, they always do. So I hired her. Turned out workers comp did pay my medical bills, without a fight and paid me an additional $12000, after the doctor said I was at end of care and would never get better. This # was based on what workers comp considered was fair for my injury. Anyway I had already hired Rachel Fitzgerald and I guess she did okay, after all she has a stake in getting me as much as possible, however with permanent restrictions, I’m not sure she didn’t take the easy way out and excepted a lower amount instead of fighting in court. Any way, once I signed the deal they stopped paying me the portion of the $12000 remaining (the uncontested portion) saying it was now wrapped in my final settlement. I was unaware this would be done (my fault, I guess I should’ve known, it was going to be included in the final settlement). However I don’t think Rachel should have gotten her 20% out of that portion. (which she did). And one last thing. When we neared the end of the case, I sent an email asking that they try to keep expenses down and not request another statement from every doctor or clinic I went to, as I had not seen one in months, so there would be none. Guess what… they did anyway, on my statement showing what expenses were incurred. There it was another $112 charged to me for asking for doctor bills, that I had already told them “did not exist” So to sum things up, If you want a lawyer who keeps you updated, doesn’t run expenses up, and follows your directions (after all your supposed to be her boss) I would stay away from Rachel Fitzgerald from Fitzgerald and Bomier. Thank God workers comp, didn’t contest the medical bills or I would be owing money on top of now being permanently disabled. S

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Rachel K. Fitzgerald's Lawyer Endorsements

Endorse Rachel
Michael P. Schoenbohm headshot
Michael Schoenbohm

Workers compensation lawyer | Jun 23

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I strongly endorse this lawyer."

View All Endorsements
Samuel J. Bomier headshot
Samuel Bomier

Workers compensation lawyer

Experience

Rating:  6.6 (Good)

Associations

American Bar Association

Member

State Bar of Wisconsin

Member

Winnebago County Bar Association

Member

Education

2004

William Mitchell College of Law

JD - Juris Doctor

1999

University of Minnesota

BA - Bachelor of Arts

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