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NickDiCesare

Partner

"It's important to understand our clients' goals and work collaboratively and creatively to achieve them within the bounds of the law and our legal system."

Overview

Biography

Nick counsels on best practices to securely maintain electronically stored information and assists clients with the legal and business consequences of cybersecurity breaches. He has worked with professional businesses and clients in the health care, industrial, hospitality, and education industries in handling data security incidents, including coordinating forensic investigations, addressing state and federal law notification requirements, public relations issues, and responding to state and federal agency data breach investigations. Nick also assists clients with cybersecurity compliance requirements under state and federal laws and regulations and assesses cybersecurity issues in relation to due diligence in business purchase and sale transactions.

Nick additionally concentrates his practice on matters involving commercial litigation and construction and surety litigation, handling cases in state and federal courts at both the trial and appellate levels.  Nick represents businesses, municipalities, and individuals in a wide variety of contractual and business disputes. He  represents owners, contractors, and subcontractors in construction matters, from the contracting phase through litigation in both court and arbitration settings; and he has also represented financial institutions, businesses, and government entities in class-action litigation and other complex commercial claims.

Nick also represents clients in matters involving state and federal government contracts, including in relation to construction projects and military contracts, and has extensive experience litigating NY CPLR Article 78 proceedings involving municipalities and various government agencies. He routinely handles complex arbitrations, including matters involving the Federal Arbitration Act and NY CPLR Article 75.

Nick has significant experience litigating labor and employment matters involving employment contract disputes, including noncompetition and restrictive covenant enforcement, and he frequently represents employers in administrative proceedings and litigation involving discrimination, wage and hour, unemployment, and unfair labor practice claims. He also counsels employers on best practices in relation to potential employment and labor law-related issues.

Bar Associations

  • Bar Association of Erie County
  • New York State Bar Association
Experience

Representative Experience

  • Represents a variety of entities, including health care organizations, manufacturing businesses, and service companies, in responding to data-security incidents, including with regard to legal notification requirements, responding to government investigations, and addressing potential litigation claims. 
  • Represents municipalities in class-action claims involving alleged constitutional violations.
  • Represents owners, contractors, and subcontractors in relation to construction-contract disputes and lien issues in both court litigation and arbitrations.
  • Defends employers in administrative hearings and litigation challenging the classification of individuals as independent contractors as opposed to employees.
  • Represents companies and employers in administrative processes and litigation involving discrimination claims, including, on a number of occasions, obtaining summary judgment dismissing litigated claims.
  • Represents and counsels individuals and businesses with respect to employment contracts, including restrictive covenants, non-competition covenants, and non-solicitation agreements.
  • Represents retail establishments, businesses, and other property owners in defending against personal injury claims.
  • Represents and counsels financial institutions concerning check fraud and online and mobile banking matters.
  • Successfully negotiated significantly reduced penalties arising from government investigations of cybersecurity breaches.
  • Successfully obtained summary judgment dismissing class action lawsuit against a county involving civil-rights claims under the Fourth Amendment.
  • Represented financial institutions in class-action cases involving alleged violations of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act.
  • Obtained a significant arbitration award on behalf of a client in a construction dispute between the contractor and owner.
  • Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a service company in relation to claims of an oral indemnification agreement and successfully argued to have the decision upheld by the federal Court of Appeals. 
  • Defended municipalities in challenges to zoning ordinances and determinations of town and zoning boards.
  • Represented a private energy company in litigation challenging tax assessments of property.
  • Represented an investment group in arbitration and litigation involving breach-of-contract and breach-of-fiduciary-duty claims and company-control issues.
  • Represented an industrial manufacturer in a breach-of-contract and collection matter.
  • Represented a client in relation to a data breach caused by an unsecured website regulating in disclosure of private information, including social security numbers and health care details. Coordinated a forensic investigation of the incident. Addressed the legal notification requirements for individuals impacted as well as state and federal agencies. Responded to state and federal regulatory investigations of the incident, including the negotiation of fines and remediation requirements.
  • Represented a client in relation to a data breach caused by malware.
  • Represented a client in relation to creating data security and data breach response plans to comply with New York Shield Act requirements.
  • Represented a client in relation to providing evaluation and assessment of cybersecurity obligations under various state laws, including the New York Shield Act.
  • Represented a client in relation to a data breach arising out of the compromise of a third-party cloud service provider.
  • Represented a client in relation to a data breach situation involving an employee who may have compromised the security of the system, resulting in PII being available on the internet. Coordinated with the forensic investigator to evaluate the disclosure of data and with law enforcement in relation to the investigation of the employee's potential criminal conduct.
  • Represented a client in relation to a data breach caused by a phishing scam resulting in the compromise of several email accounts. Coordinated the initial response to the breach and its forensic investigation.

Prior Experience

  • Hiscock & Barclay, LLP, Partner

Judicial Clerkships

  • US District Court for the Western District of New York to Judge William Skretny, Student Law Clerk

Selected Community Activities

  • University at Buffalo Law Alumni Association, Director

Selected Honors

  • The Best Lawyers in America®: Commercial Litigation, 2023–2025; Construction Law, 2024–2025
Knowledge

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • Bar Association of Erie County, “What Businesses Should Be Considering in the Cyber Age”
  • Barclay Damon Emerging Issues for Not-For-Profit Health Care and Human Services Providers Conference, “Hot Topics in Cybersecurity for the Health Care Provider: What We Have Learned and What It Means for My Organization (No Matter Its Size)”

Selected Media

Selected Alerts & Blog Posts

Selected Podcasts

Featured Media

Alerts

RAPID Action: NYS Office of Energy Renewable Energy Siting and Transmission Announces Draft Regulations for New Transmission Siting Framework

Alerts

NYSDEC Issues Draft Freshwater Wetlands General Permit

Alerts

USPTO Updates Audit Program

Alerts

NYS DOL Publishes Long-Awaited FAQs on Paid Prenatal Leave Law

Alerts

Update on Massachusetts Pay Transparency Law Disclosures and EEO Reporting Requirements in 2025

Alerts

Massachusetts Employers Required to Provide Job Applicants Notice That Use of a Lie Detector Test Is Unlawful

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