About Us

About Fialko Law

Our History

Chris Fialko is comfortable both fighting for clients in “blue collar” cases, and guiding clients through “white collar” investigations.  Since 2002, he has been Board Certified by the North Carolina State Bar as a Specialist in both State and Federal Criminal Defense.

Fialko began his practice in the 1990s in Charlotte and Western North Carolina, representing people accused in State and Federal courts of everything from assault on a female to robbery, from embezzlement to drug trafficking, from burglary to murder.

In the 2000s, Fialko slowly shifted much of his practice to “white collar” cases, concentrating on advising and representing businessmen and professionals who face federal criminal, regulatory, or licensing investigations.  Recently, he has represented clients such as:

  • CPAs and tax preparers under scrutiny for tax evasion
  • Bankers facing FDIC and OCC investigations
  • Doctors and nurses with billing, coding and medical necessity issues
  • Executives and managers accused of kickback schemes and wire fraud
  • Real estate agents and developers fighting charges of mortgage fraud and short sale fraud
  • Businesses facing PPP loan fraud charges

Chris Fialko has earned widespread recognition for his work in criminal defense, including:

  • Named the Best Lawyers® 2022 Criminal Defense: General Practice “Lawyer of the Year” in Charlotte.
  • Named the Best Lawyers® 2021 Criminal Defense: White-Collar “Lawyer of the Year” in Charlotte.
  • Named 2021 Top 25 Super Lawyer in Charlotte
  • AV peer rated by the venerable Martindale-Hubbell
  • Named 2016 Charlotte’s Best Lawyers® “Lawyer of the Year” in Non-White Collar Criminal Defense

Chris has lived and practiced in Charlotte since 1992 and is married with two children.  He is a big soccer and baseball fan, and replenishes his soul regularly by seeing live music all over town.  As a Connecticut Yankee in North Carolina courts, he is still searching for a good slice of thin crust pizza.

If you or someone you know needs a calm, experienced, tough, and thorough lawyer, Chris Fialko is your man.

Board Certified Since 2002

Fialko devotes his practice to criminal defense law in both state and federal courts. 

Our Principle

Defending the Constitution One Client at a Time.

Key Of Success

Even a “small” case is big to the client.

what we are expert at

Why Clients Choose Us?

Chris Fialko specializes in defending individual clients in criminal investigations and prosecutions involving diverse subjects such as healthcare fraud, government contracting and military procurement fraud, tax evasion, FDA drug misbranding, and old-fashioned marijuana drug conspiracy with money laundering.   Fialko is equally comfortable in state and federal court, having conducted many jury trials in both venues.

In defending clients, Fialko believes a thorough defense investigation — not relying solely on the discovery evidence the government turns over — is key to achieving the best result for each client.    He also takes fewer cases, in order to spend more time on each one, finding and interviewing witnesses, subpoenaing documents, and hiring experts to review technical issues.  Fialko can counsel a client when to fight, and when to negotiate a plea agreement.

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Frequently Asked Questions

If I get a lawyer, won’t I just look guilty?

No, you’ll look smart. See my longer answer here.

This just seems hopeless – why shouldn’t I just give up?

It’s sometimes true that the facts are clear and the client made some really bad choices and took harmful actions. But even – or especially – tough cases need good lawyering. We can do investigation and mitigation work to limit the damage. We can sometimes find a legal defense that can eliminate some charges.

It seems weird that you do both blue collar crimes (drugs, guns, robberies) and white collar crimes. Most lawyers do one or the other. What’s up with that?

I began focusing on criminal defense in 1994 and came up through the ranks mostly defending men and women charged with violent crimes and drug charges in state and federal court. These are the types of cases where a lawyer can get real jury trial experience. And nothing forms a lawyer like the preparation and defense of a jury trial.
Once you’ve defended several dozen jury trials, nothing can phase you.
And being unphased is valuable when dealing with white-collar cases, which are often complex and daunting to understand and defend.
Although most of my practice involves defending individuals who are somehow part of white collar investigations, I still do blue-collar work for several reasons. First, I know how to do them. Second, I get to craft and file pretrial motions and fight them out in court. This happens more rarely in white-collar cases, given their nature. I like the dynamic nature of courtroom practice. Third, and this is more subtle, but the drug and violent crime prosecutors of today become the white-collar prosecutors of the future. Many times over the years I get into a white-collar case and lo and behold the prosecutor is one who I had a blue-collar case with down in state court a few years before. And this gives me an advantage.

How can you represent a person charged with this or that heinous crime?

When I graduated from law school, my 89-year-old grandfather, who was a coal miner in Pennsylvania at age 13, gave me a book and wrote this inscription inside: Defend the poor. Seek justice.

I have defended people accused of homicide, rape, robbery, giant Ponzi schemes, defrauding the elderly, drug trafficking. You name it.

I believe three things in this regard: Every human being has dignity, including the accused. I refuse to give up on the American principle that every person is presumed innocent. And if we do not make sure the state or government is held to their burden of proof in every single case, then any one of us could be next.

No charge for an initial consultation.

Let us help you! Call Now : (704) 458-5415