Virginia Henley Gatz

A Colorado native, I graduated from Lewis Palmer High School in 1993.  I received a Bachelors Degree in Musical Theater from Cornell College in 1997, moved to London, England, for a year to continue my theater training, and then worked as an actor for three years.  I was a continual performer at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center Repertory Theater from 1999 through 2001.  I was selected as the Best Supporting Actress in the year 2000 “Best Of” edition of the Colorado Springs Independent for my performance in HMS Pinafore.  I mention this to explain why I do not have, as some lawyers do, “stage fright” about the prospect that if I can’t get a fair settlement for my client through negotiations, I will have argue the case in open court.

I later attended law school at the University of Colorado School of Law in Boulder, and attained my Juris Doctorate there in May of 2004.  I was admitted to the Colorado Bar that same year.  In 2004, I worked for the Adams County Colorado District Court as a general clerk in the Domestic Relations Division, and primarily assisting the Family Court Facilitator, Magistrate Simon Mole, who was my mentor.  I was also a clerk for the Honorable District Judge Vincent Phelps in his County Court appellate capacity during this time, and occasionally assisted the honorable District Judge Popovich, District Judge Moss, and Magistrate Bryan (who is now a District Judge in Adams County.)  All of the above gentlemen and their clerks were an integral part of my education in how to be a family law attorney and I am grateful to them for the individual impact each of them had on me.

            In January of 2005, I began working in Westminster as an attorney at Ciancio & Associates, P.C.. That law firm has since merged into Donalson, Ciancio, Goodwin, & Juarez.  Cynthia Ciancio,  an outstanding Colorado family law lawyer,  graciously took me under her wing, and the two of us handled all the divorce and child custody cases for the firm.  Ciancio & Associates was a great place to work.  Cynthia Ciancio and her father, Gene, are well recognized attorneys of extraordinary caliber.  I was blessed to have had the opportunity to learn from them.  I was with Ciancio & Associates from January of 2005 until the end of February, 2007, when I leapt at the opportunity to join forces with my father, Tom Henley, here in Colorado Springs.

            I assisted my father as a co-presenter in his August, 2006 Continuing Legal Education presentation on “Ethical Considerations for Direct and Cross Examination” in Breckenridge, Colorado.  When living in Adams County, I volunteered to assist Metro Volunteer Lawyers on several cases.  I was also briefly a board member for Access Housing which provided temporary housing for the homeless, among other services.  My qualifications and publications are not so numerous as my father’s.  However, that is not surprising, since my father has been practicing for over 40 years and can often be heard declaring that he was a busboy at the Last Supper.  Nevertheless, all of my legal experience has been concentrated in family law, and I have the good fortune to have my father as a constant example and resource. We work together and share ideas on how to best represent our clients, just as Cynthia Ciancio and I did when I was working with her in Adams County.

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