VITA
Dr Christoph Nickolaus is a criminal defence lawyer and accredited specialist for criminal law in Wiesbaden. His main areas of practice are white collar criminal law, criminal tax law and legal psychology. In addition, he advises and defends clients nationwide in the area of general criminal law.
Lawyer Dr. Nickolaus studied law at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, at the University of Speyer and at the University of the West of England, Bristol (UK).There he obtained the comparative law degree Magister iuris. He passed his first state law examination in Mainz. He completed his practical legal training in the district of the regional court of Bad Kreuznach.
In his dissertation under the supervision of Professor Dr. Dr. Brettel, Dr. Nickolaus examined whether the psychological anchoring effect is noticeable in judges and whether it constitutes a violation of the right to a fair, objective and unbiased trial. Dr. Nickolaus worked as a scientific assistant at Professor Brettel’s chair until 2018, focussing on commercial criminal law and medical law.
In 2021, the Board of the Chamber of Lawyers Frankfurt am Main granted him the right to use the title “Accredited Specialist for Criminal Law” based on his particular theoretic and practical qualifications.
Dr. Nickolaus has been working at the Traut law firm since 2010.
AWARDS
2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Handelsblatt – Best Lawyers: „Anwälte der Zukunft“ / “Ones to Watch”
Categories: Criminal Tax Law, Economic Criminal Law.
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2025
WirtschaftsWoche – TOP Anwalt
Category: Compliance.
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Focus Business – TOP Rechtsanwalt
Category: Criminal Law.
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FAZ Institut – TOP Anwalt 2026
Category: Economic and Criminal Tax Law.
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RESEARCH AND TEACHING
Dr. Nickolaus has been a free associate at the Brettel Chair of Criminology, Criminal Law and Medical Law, including Juvenile and Correctional Law, since 2018.
In addition, he is a lecturer in criminal procedure law at the EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht in Spring Term 2022.
PRESENTATIONS
Dokumentation des Strafverfahrens – Defizite und Chancen (Documentation of Criminal Proceedings – Deficits and Opportunities)
28.05.2022, Strafverteidigerjahr 2022 – auftakt: Dokumentation des Strafverfahrens
Ausgewählte Praxisprobleme zu Covid-19 (Selected practice problems on Covid-19) (Co-Organisation und Moderation)
02.07.2020, Webkonferenz Wirtschaftsstrafrecht, WisteV e.V.
Ankereffekte bei der Verständigung nach § 257c StPO? (Anchor Effects in Negotiated Agreements under § 257c StPO?)
07.07.2018, 54. Kolloquium der Südwestdeutschen und Schweizerischen Kriminologischen Institute und Lehrstühle
Summary in: Beisel/Dölling/Brettel MschrKrim 2019, 163 (167).
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Dr. Sven Henseler; Dr. Christoph Nickolaus
Lehrbuch Steuerstrafrecht
C. F. Müller Verlag 2025; Aus der Reihe: Start ins Rechtsgebiet
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Dr. Christoph Nickolaus
Dokumentation der Hauptverhandlung aus Strafverteidigerperspektive
Nickolaus ZRP 2023, 49 ff.
Marcus Traut; Dr. Christoph Nickolaus,
Audiovisuelle Dokumentation der Hauptverhandlung – Die Zeit ist reif,
Traut/Nickolaus StraFo 2022, 55 ff.
Dr. Christoph Nickolaus
Ankereffekte im Strafprozess – Verstoß gegen das Prinzip des fairen Verfahrens?,
Nomos Verlag 2018; The work is part of the series: Schriften zur Rechtspsychologie, Band 2.