WJA 2020: Cynthia Garnholz, Garnholz | Sparks Family Lawyers

When Cynthia Garnholz was a child, she watched her father practice law and determined she never wanted to try it herself.

“Based on my observation of some of his practice, at least from the perspective of a child, I thought it was something I never wanted to do,” Garnholz said. “Of course, as I grew older and viewed it from a more mature perspective, I realized the essential service that he was able to provide to his clients.”

Even so, when the native St. Louisan graduated from Fontbonne University in 1976 with a degree in business administration, her plans still didn’t include law school. After working in retail, however, she realized that she didn’t want to make a career in that industry — and she took the LSAT.

“I enrolled at Washington University School of Law and never looked back,” she said.

Garnholz said she initially didn’t know what area of law she wanted to focus on when she entered law school. After clerking for the St. Louis County Circuit Court, she realized she didn’t want to have to choose just one area.

“The subject matter that comes before that office is quite varied, and I discovered I loved learning about all of the areas of law and addressing those issues,” she said. “While I admire people who know an area of the law inside out and [practice it] 10 to 12 hours a day, I found that I enjoy first of all, client contact, and second, being exposed to and practicing in more than one area of the law.”

Garnholz focuses primarily on family law and probate and presents frequently on those topics.

“I find those two are somewhat related in that they are both family-oriented but under different statutory codes. But the emotional issues that certainly arise in both areas of the law are very similar, if not the same,” she said. “Getting to know people and addressing their sometimes very deep concerns and giving them some relief is something that I find quite satisfying.”

By night, she is a provisional judge for the municipal court in Clayton, where she completed four terms as a city alderman between 2007 and 2017 — a stint of service that she describes as one of her proudest career accomplishments. She also was a provisional judge for St. Louis County Municipal Court for 10 years and works with families as a guardian ad litem.

“I feel it is so important that lawyers devote some time to public service. There are many ways to serve the public, but an office like alderman is certainly a wonderful choice. Lawyers are needed at every level of government,” she said.

“Not enough of us can or are willing to devote our time in that way, and I hope that all of us look inward and see if there is some way that we can do that because it is so satisfying, and we bring a lot to the table,” she added.

Garnholz is a founding member of the Washington University Women’s Law Initiative, which began in 2015 with a mission to improve the law school experience for female students, mentor those students, serve as educators and raise funds for the school with a special emphasis on financially benefiting women students.

“I find this group to be very exciting and the potential to be very exciting. We are in contact with women lawyers around the country and around the world,” she said. “. . . I was one of several who had the idea that there should be some sort of alliance of the women from the law school and that there was an untapped potential there.”