Timothy J. Fitzgerald

Ohio

Koehler Fitzgerald LLC
1111 Superior Avenue East
Suite 1360
Cleveland, OH 44114

Tel: 216-452-5344

Email: tfitzgerald@koehler.law
Web: www.koehler.law

Tim Fitzgerald joined the firm as a member in 2013. His practice focuses on sophisticated commercial and business litigation in Ohio’s state and federal trial courts as well as appeals before Ohio’s intermediate courts of appeals, the Supreme Court of Ohio, United States Courts of Appeals and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Tim was one of the first attorneys in Ohio to be certified by the Ohio State Bar Association as an Appellate Law Specialist and was appointed in 2010 to serve as one of the twelve members on the OSBA’s Appellate Law Specialty Board, which oversees the testing and certification of attorneys in Ohio as appellate specialists. He has represented businesses, insurance carriers, and individuals in complex civil and commercial litigation and is a frequent lecturer and author on appellate practice, legal ethics, and professionalism.

His impressive appellate practice covers every aspect of the appellate process, from providing advice on pre-appeal issue identification, briefing strategies and preserving the record during trial to briefing and presenting oral arguments before state and federal appellate courts. He has been involved as appellate counsel in over 200 appeals during his 20 plus year career and he has successfully argued several cases before the Supreme Court of Ohio that resulted in merit opinions. He has also been engaged to author a number of amicus curiae briefs in appeals in the Supreme Court of Ohio.

Tim has tried numerous jury and non-jury trials in state and federal courts. He has handled court cases involving securities laws, attorney and accountant malpractice, professional licensure and disciplinary actions, Uniform Commercial Code, contracts, lender liability, fraud and breach of fiduciary duty, intellectual property, civil RICO, corporate law, partnership law, employment law and wrongful discharge, insurance coverage disputes and bad faith, and civil and business tort actions.

Tim is a Fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America, an invitation-only trial and appellate lawyer honorary society whose membership is limited to 3,500 Fellows, representing less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers. He is a Co-Founder of the American Institute of Appellate Practice, a professional institute formed under the auspices of the LCA.

Education
  • Cleveland State University, Cleveland Marshall College of Law (J.D. 1989, Dean’s List, Order of the Barrister, Moot Court Board of Governors)
  • Marquette University (B.S. 1986)
Bar Admissions
  • Ohio, 1989
  • U.S.D.C. Arizona
  • U.S.D.C. N.D. Ohio
  • U.S.D.C. S.D. Ohio
  • U.S.C.A. 2nd Circuit
  • U.S.C.A. 3rd Circuit
  • U.S.C.A. 5th Circuit
  • U.S.C.A. 6th Circuit
  • U.S.C.A. 7th Circuit
  • U.S. Supreme Court
Honors
  • Ohio Super Lawyers, Cincinnati Magazine, Appellate Practice, 2004, 2005, 2009 – 2016
  • AV® Pre-eminent™ rating by Martindale-Hubbell
  • Litigation Counsel of America, Fellow
  • Ohio State Bar Association’s Appellate Law Specialty Board, June 2008 – present (Vice-Chair: Jan. 2013 – present)
  • Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference, Life Member
  • Judicial Conference of the Eighth Judicial District, Life Member

Koehler Fitzgerald is regularly engaged to assume the prosecution or defense of appeals following a final order in federal and state trial courts. Timothy J. Fitzgerald was one of the first attorneys in Ohio to be certified by the Ohio State Bar Association as an Appellate Law Specialist and was appointed in 2010 to serve as one of the twelve members on the OSBA’s Appellate Law Specialty Board, which oversees the testing and certification of attorneys in Ohio as appellate specialists.

The firm’s lawyers have handled more than 200 appeals in state courts and in the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, 3rd Circuit, 5th Circuit, 6th Circuit, 7th Circuit and 10th Circuit. The subject matters of these appeals have ranged from arbitrability of claims, banking fraud, civil RICO, federal and state securities laws, insurance coverage and bad faith, partnership law, real estate and many other subject matters.

Tim Fitzgerald is frequently engaged by large insurers to represent their interests in coverage cases before the Ohio Supreme Court, either directly, or to present the carrier’s interests via an amicus brief. He is also frequently engaged to review a trial record to provide a fresh perspective, to identify potential challenges to a successful judgment, or to identify error to support a reversal.

Recognizing that an appeal is not a second trial, the firm’s appellate lawyers utilize their expertise and experience to identify procedural and substantive issues and fashion the specific arguments most likely to be successful on appeal and achieve our clients’ objectives.

Koehler Fitzgerald is one of Northeast Ohio’s most experienced and respected business and commercial litigation law firms, specializing in financial services, insurance and securities litigation and arbitration, regulatory consulting and defense, unfair competition and trade secrets violations, labor and employment matters, healthcare law, estate and probate issues, business and succession planning, and state and federal appellate work.

The firm is consistently recognized in various categories in the U.S. News Best Lawyers – Best Law Firm rankings, and has achieved the AV Preeminent® Peer Review™ rating, the highest possible rating from Martindale-Hubbell® for legal ability and ethical standards.