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Black and white cityscape at night with illuminated buildings reflected in a calm river, a park, and a gazebo.
Nicoulaus stands with arms crossed, wearing a dark pinstripe suit, white shirt, and coral tie.

Nicholas G. Gounaris

Founding Partner

A Reputation of Dedication and Success

Attorney Nicholas G. Gounaris is a founding partner of the law firm Gounaris Abboud. Nick was born and raised in the Dayton area and is a graduate of Miami University and the University of Dayton School of Law. His law career began in 1995.

As a skilled trial attorney, Mr. Gounaris has experience handling cases involving all forms of complex litigation. He has successfully tried cases in Municipal, State, and Federal Courts. He built a reputation by being a strong advocate for his clients. In the past, he’s acted in the capacity of prosecutor, Magistrate, and acting Judge. As such, Mr. Gounaris can understand legal issues from many different vantage points and that experience has proved invaluable in assisting his clients.

A member of the Gounaris family has been serving the Dayton and Miami Valley communities for the past sixty years. Nick’s father, George J. Gounaris, was not only an attorney in Dayton but also served as a Judge at the Dayton Municipal Court, the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, General Division as well as serving as the Probate Judge for Montgomery County.

Mr. Gounaris is a member of many legal associations including the Dayton Bar Association, The Ohio State Bar Association, The American Bar Association, The Miami Valley Trial Lawyers Association, and The Federal Bar Association. Mr. Gounaris served two years as the President of the Federal Bar Association, Dayton Chapter after serving a number of years in other board positions.

Exemplary Skill &
Proven Defense

In 2011, Mr. Gounaris was first included in the list of Super Lawyers® in the field of Criminal Defense. To be recognized by Super Lawyers®, an attorney must illustrate exemplary skill in the courtroom and have their efforts lauded by their peers. Mr. Gounaris has since been nominated by his peers to the Super Lawyers® list consecutively from 2012 through 2024. Further, Mr. Gounaris has been named as a Top-100 lawyer in Ohio and a Top-50 Lawyer in the Dayton/Cincinnati area for numerous years.

The Ohio Top-50 Cincinnati/Dayton Super Lawyers® in 2024 contained only seven (7) lawyers from the Dayton area. Two of those seven were law partners, Nick and Tony. Even more impressive, of those seven (7) Dayton area lawyers included in the list, the only 2 that focus on criminal defense were Mr. Gounaris and Mr. Abboud.

In 2011, Mr. Gounaris was awarded a 10.0 “Superb” rating by Avvo, which is an attorney rating website recognized around the nation. He continues to maintain that “Superb” rating today.

Mr. Gounaris has been recognized by the National Academy of Criminal Defense Attorneys (NACDA) as a “Nationally Ranked Top 10” in 2014 and 2015 and was named as a recipient of the “10 Best Client Satisfaction” Award for Criminal Law by the American Institute of Criminal Law Attorneys™ beginning in 2014 through today.

real results

More about Nicholas G. Gounaris

Education

Miami University, Oxford Ohio

  • B.A. Sociology, 1991
  • B.A. Political Science, 1991

University of Dayton School of Law, Dayton, Ohio

  • J.D., 1994

Bar Admission

  • The Supreme Court of Ohio, 1995
  • The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, 1995
  • The United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, 1999
  • The United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, San Antonio, 2022

Honor and Awards

  • Ohio Super Lawyers: 2011 – 2026
  • Ohio Super Lawyers Top 50 Cincinnati: 2021 – 2026
  • Ohio Super Lawyers Top 100 Ohio: 2021 – 2026
  • National Association of Trial Lawyer Top 100
  • National Academy of Criminal Defense Attorney’s (NACDA) Top-10 2014, 2015
  • Top 100 DUI Attorney State of Ohio
  • American Institute of Criminal Law Attorneys “10 Best Client Satisfaction”
  • Superb Rating 10.0, AVVO

Professional Associations

  • Dayton Bar Association
  • Ohio State Bar Association
  • Federal Bar Association – Past President
  • Ohio Criminal Lawyers Association
  • National Criminal Lawyers Association

Past Positions

  • Acting Magistrate, Vandalia Municipal Court
  • Acting Magistrate, Dayton Municipal Court
  • Acting Judge, Dayton Municipal Court

Take
the First Step

Don’t let a criminal charge define your life. The team at Gounaris Abboud is ready to stand up and fight for you. We are available 24/7 to take your call because we know that legal troubles don’t wait for business hours.

Your defense starts now. Schedule a free, completely confidential consultation to discuss your case with an experienced Dayton criminal defense lawyer. There is no obligation. Let us show you how we can help.

(937) 222-1515

Contact

Our Dayton
Defense Team Today

*Communication through our website does not establish an attorney-client relationship between you and Gounaris Abboud