Cynthia L. Ciancio

Founding Shareholder/Attorney

About Cynthia

Cynthia L. Ciancio is a founding shareholder of Ciancio Ciancio Brown, P.C. and she manages the firm’s Family Law Group currently consisting of 19 lawyers and 8 paralegals. Ms. Ciancio’s practice focuses on high profile divorce, high asset divorce, high conflict divorce, divorce involving businesses and business valuation issues, divorce involving challenging assets, divorce involving pre-nuptial or post-nuptial agreements, and divorce for retirees (“grey divorce”).  She occasionally handles complex or high conflict child custody disputes for high income individuals. Ms. Ciancio is a certified mediator who also conducts mediations and arbitrations for parties with or without lawyers. Ms. Ciancio has also served on several occasions as an expert in court on various family law related issues. Now in her 25th year of practice exclusively in the area of family law, and 28 years as a licensed attorney, having served as a Deputy District Attorney in Adams County for the first 4 years, Ms. Ciancio has extensive experience as a litigator and even more experience negotiating agreements for people with extensive or complex conflict.  The feedback Ms. Ciancio has received from her peers, clients, and judicial officers, is:  That her focus and attention to detail is unmatched, her dedication and commitment to her clients is extraordinary, and that her ability to produce creative solutions to solve the most difficult problems is her talent.  She’s said to always be there for all her client and their varied needs, and that she truly lives for seeing her clients get from point A to point Z in a divorce or custody proceeding.  Ms. Ciancio’s extensive experience and presence in the community over the years has enabled her to have outstanding and extensive relationships with experts in the field, as well as knowing and being respected by many of the serving judicial officers. Ms. Ciancio stands out among her peers as a highly skilled negotiator and litigator who is able to reach favorable results for her clients both in and out of the courtroom. She’s known among many judicial officers as being one of the best at resolving cases for her clients, and if she cannot, it must mean there is an important (or impossible) issue to litigate…if she does come to court, we can count on her being professional and well-prepared.

Ms. Ciancio has represented hundreds of people with a wide range of issues. She is a vigorous advocate for her clients’ interests, staying highly involved with every aspect of their case. She prides herself in knowing how to move a family law matter forward, and she only results to “being aggressive” if that is what is necessary.  Ms. Ciancio works in all of the Denver Metro Courts and several outlying counties such as Boulder, Weld, Summit, Eagle, Lincoln, Larimer, Grand, Mesa, and Archuleta counties.

Ms. Ciancio is dedicated to the practice of family law and she works tirelessly as a volunteer to better the practice and to educate other lawyers and judicial officers on the subject of family law. She takes pride in her work over the years as one of the authors, and the editor in chief, for the Domestic Relations Bench Bar Book – the most used domestic relations handbook by lawyers and judicial officers.  Ms. Ciancio serves on the Executive Counsel of the Colorado Bar Association’s Family Law Section and is a Fellow of the Colorado Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (and she served in all officer roles on both boards over the years). She is a member of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, the Colorado Bar Association, the Adams-Broomfield Bar Association, and the Boulder Inter-Disciplinary Committee. Ms. Ciancio has twelve times been selected by her peers as a Super Lawyer and for over a decade has been honored as one of Colorado’s Top 50 Women Attorneys and one of Colorado’s Top 100 Attorneys. Ms. Ciancio is certainly top of her field, but she is also very approachable and easily gets along with other counsel, judicial officers, experts and of course her clients.

Practice Areas

  • Family Law
  • High Asset Divorce
  • Legal Separation
  • Complex Child Custody
  • Child Support
  • Child Relocation
  • Family Law Appeals
  • Allocation of Parental Responsibilities
  • Adoption

Litigation Percentage

  • 100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Certified Legal Specialties

  • Certified Mediator

Bar Admissions

  • Colorado, 1996

Education

  • University of Denver College of Law, Denver, Colorado
    • J.D. – 1995
  • Stetson University, FL, DeLand, Florida
    • B.A. – 1992

Published Works

  • Bench Bar Book, Family Law Section for Colorado Bar Association 2014 Edition, Editor with Honorable Angela Arkin, 2014
  • “Using Exhibits,” Colorado Bar Association’s Practicum for Family Lawyers, Presented with Honorable Ted Tow III, 2014
  • “Managing Partner Roundtable – What’s the Allure of Colorado’s Small Law Firms,” Colorado Law Week, March 2014
  • “An Editorial by The Parting Family Law Section Chair,” Colorado Law Week, July 2013
  • “In the Interest of S.N.V., a Child, and Concerning C.A.T.C.,” Colorado Court of Appeals, 2011
  • “Navigating the Legal Maze of Divorce,” April 2011
  • Family Law Newsletter, Colorado Bar Association, Editor, 2010
  • “In re the Parental Responsibilities of A.D., and Concerning Rueda,” Colorado Court of Appeals, 2010
  • “Modifying or Terminating Maintenance Based on Co-Habitation,” Colorado Lawyer, Co-Author, June 2009

Classes/Seminars

  • Advanced Family Law Institute, Chair of Programs, November 2020
  • “The Entitled Client: How to Deal with Unrealistic Expectations,” American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), December 2014
  • “Family Law & Federal Actions Pro Bono Hotline Training,” Training for Bryan Cave LLP, November 2013, and November 2014
  • “Evidentiary Challenges in Divorce,” Strafford Webinars CLE, October 2014
  • “Modification of Maintenance,” Colorado Bar Association Continuing Legal Education (CLE), 2010
  • “Evidentiary Challenges in Divorce Cases: Traditional and Electronic Communications – Authenticating, Admitting, and Objecting ”

Honors and Awards

  • 2023 Best Lawyers – Family Law
  • 2023 Best Lawyers – Family Law Arbitration
  • 2023 Best Lawyers – Family Law Mediation
  • 2023 AV Preeminent Rating – Judicial Edition by Martindale-Hubbell
  • Martindale-Hubbell Preeminent Rating, 2021
  • Martindale-Hubbell AV Rating
  • Top 100 Colorado Lawyers in the Colorado Super Lawyers, 2012 – 2021
  • Top 50 Colorado Female Lawyers in the Colorado Super Lawyers, 2012 – 2021
  • Colorado Super Lawyers 2011 – 2021
  • 5280’s Top Lawyer, 2015 – 2020
  • Broomfield Community Foundation, Dancing with the Broomfield Stars, 2013
  • Ballroom Dance Champion, Barrister’s Ball Benefiting the Metro Volunteer Lawyers, 2011
  • Top Women Lawyers Finalist by Law Week Colorado, 2010 – 2011
  • The Primo Award of Excellence: Service to the Community Award
  • Denver Business Journal Outstanding Women in Business Award Nomination
  • Adams/Broomfield Bar Association’s Amicus Award
  • Adams/Broomfield Bar Association’s Volunteer Attorney of the Year Award

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), Judicial Global Education Committee, Chair, 2013 – Present
  • Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), Member, 2012 – Present
  • Colorado Bar Association, Judicial Committee, 2012 – Present
  • Colorado Bar Association, Family Law Section, Chair, 2012 – Present
  • Family Law Institute (FLI), Chair, 2012 – Present
  • Colorado Bar Association Leadership Training Program (COBALT), Graduate, 2009 – Present
  • Colorado Bar Association, Family Law Section, Executive Council, 2008 – Present
  • Adams/Broomfield Bar Association (ABBA), Executive Director, President, Vice President, Treasurer, 2000 – 2006
  • Colorado Bar Association, Executive Council, 2003 – 2005
  • Colorado Bar Association, Board of Governors, 2002 – 2004
  • Metro Volunteer Lawyers (MVL), Board of Directors
  • Supervised Parenting Time and Exchange Commission, Member
  • Colorado Bar Association, Member
  • Adams/Broomfield Bar Association, Member
  • Colorado Women’s Bar Association, Member
  • American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers

Pro Bono Activities

  • Bal Swan Children’s Center, Board Member, 2008 – Present
  • Broomfield Community Foundation, Dancing with the Broomfield Stars, 2013
  • Metro Volunteer Lawyers (MVL), Barrister’s Ball Ballroom Dance Competition Benefitting MVL, 2011
  • Adams Community Mental Health, Board of Directors
  • Adams/Broomfield Bar Association (ABBA) Pro Se Divorce Clinic, Monthly Staffing
  • The Family Tree Kinship Adoption Clinic, Monthly Staffing
  • Metro Volunteer Lawyers Divorce and Custody Clinics at Adams County Libraries

Past Employment

  • Adams County Colorado, Deputy District Attorney, 1996 – 1999