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Charles J. Nerko Photo

Charles J. Nerko

Managing Partner

cnerko@nerko.com

Charles represents financial institutions, businesses, and individuals in high-stakes disputes involving technology outsourcing, IT systems, trade secrets, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and other strategic matters.

 

Charles helps clients resolve conflicts, manage risks, and protect their rights, reputations, and digital assets. He takes decisive action against technology vendors, competitors, and others who jeopardize business interests or misappropriate confidential information. He has served as lead counsel in notable matters, including successfully handling data security and contract exit litigation for the US Courthouse SDNY Federal Credit Union, the financial institution serving federal judges and court employees. Other law firms also turn to Charles for guidance on legal ethics and the protection of privileged information.

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Beyond litigation, Charles is a trusted advisor who helps clients mitigate legal risks and enhance business value before disputes arise. A significant portion of his practice focuses on advising banks and credit unions in core processing contract negotiations, deconversions, and contract exits. He also provides practical guidance on a wide range of issues, from routine risk management to high-stakes strategic decisions.

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Charles has been asked to lead specialized training programs for government regulators and at financial institution conferences, establishing him as a trusted thought leader on third-party vendor cybersecurity risks.  He has also been quoted extensively by the media, including in the American Bar Association Journal, Kerbs on Security, SecurityWeek, InformationWeek, Cybernews, CFO, PYMNTS, CyberScoop, PA Business Central, Global Data Review, the Credit Union Times, and American Banker.


Charles is also an “ambulance chaser.” But for him, it’s quite literal and entirely for a good cause, rather than fitting the long-running lawyer joke. He volunteers as the chaplain and an EMT for his community’s rescue squad.

Education

  • J.D., Fordham University School of Law, cum laude; Fordham Law Review, Notes & Articles Editor; Moot Court Board

  • B.A., Fordham University, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa

Bar Associations

  • Federal Bar Council

  • Chaminade Lawyers' Association

Publications

  • Hacking the Contract: How Cybersecurity Failures Can Be a Business’s Best Bargaining Chip, New York Law Journal (Mar. 2025)

  • BEC: The Hidden Threat Credit Unions Keep Overlooking, The CUDaily (Feb. 2025)

  • Mitigating the Legal Risks of AI Systems, The Heller Report (featured interview) (Feb. 2025)

  • Harper’s Warning on Vendors Should Spur Credit Unions to Act, American Banker (Dec. 2024)

  • Breaking Free: Strategies for Credit Unions to Navigate Vendor Terminations, Credit Union Times (Aug. 2024)

  • Hack Attack? Call Your Lawyer, Not Your IT Department, Unpredictable Blog (May 2024)

  • How to Avoid, or Escape, Unhappy Marriages With Vendors, The Heller Report (Apr. 2024)

  • Beyond Ink: Navigating the New Age of Contracts, Unpredictable Blog (Jan. 2024)

  • Safeguarding Credit Unions Amid Litigious Seas, Credit Union Times (Oct. 2023)

  • Protecting Your CU in Core Processing & Outsourced Technology Contracts, Credit Union Times (Mar. 2023)

  • Staving Off Tech Litigation with Smarter Contracts, ABA Banking Journal (Jan. 2023)

  • Technology Contract Traps and Tactics, USLAW Magazine (Sep. 2022)

  • 3 Ways to Keep a Credit Union’s Cyber Risks From Turning Into Legal Risks, Credit Union Times (Sep. 2020)

  • 3 Strategies for Addressing Sensitive Legal Cybersecurity Issues, CyberScoop News (Aug. 2020)

  • Lessons for Lenders from the First Cybersecurity Enforcement Action by NYDFS, HousingWire (Aug. 2020)

  • Prevent Becoming the Headline of Tomorrow, Credit Union Times (Jan. 2019)

  • Nursing Home’s Use of a “Chicken Farm” to Shred Confidential Information Has Privacy Commissioner Crying Fowl, Media & Privacy Risk Report (Sep. 2015)

  • FCC’s Latest TCPA Ruling Opens the Floodgates Even Wider, Media & Privacy Risk Report (Jun. 2015)

  • United States Establishes Sanctions Program to Combat Foreign Cyberattacks, Media & Privacy Risk Report (Apr. 2015)

  • New York State Courts Increase Privacy Protections for Litigation Filings, Media & Privacy Risk Report (Mar. 2015)

  • New York’s Freedom of Information Law Requires Sheriff to Disclose Information about Stingray Surveillance Device, Media & Privacy Risk Report (Mar. 2015)

  • Avoiding Liability for Unpaid Interns Law360 (Jun. 2010)

  • Assessing Fourth Amendment Challenges to DNA Extraction Statutes After Samson v. California, Fordham Law Review (Nov. 2008)

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