Darren Hensley has practiced law in the Colorado legal market since 1990, with his practice emphasizing a wide variety of corporate, securities, mergers and acquisitions, financings, and general business law matters and transactions.

Darren has significant experience with both buy-side and sell-side mergers, acquisitions and sales, leveraged buyouts, debt and equity offerings (including venture capital), joint ventures, entity formation, Securities Exchange Act filings, SEC regulatory matters, and general corporate and business matters. He has also published articles and lectured on mergers and acquisitions and transactional legal topics.

Chambers USA, the world's leading guide to the legal profession, has included Darren in their rankings for corporate and mergers and acquisitions, most recently in 2024. In interviews with clients and M&A professionals during research for the rankings, remarks made about him include: "Darren is incredibly knowledgeable and is the hardest working attorney I have worked with." 

Education

  • University of Kansas School of Law (J.D.)
    • Order of the Coif
  • University of Kansas Graduate School of Business (M.B.A.)
    • Graduate Business Scholar
  • Graceland College (B.A., magna cum laude)
    • Missouri Western State College

Bar Admission

  • Colorado
  • Missouri

Court Admissions

  • U.S. District Court, District of Colorado

Professional Affiliations

  • American Bar Association
    • Business Law Section
  • Colorado Bar Association
    • Business Law Section, Executive Council Member
      • M&A Subsection, Chair
    • Business Law Institute Steering Committee, Former Member
  • The Denver Bar Association
    • Business Law Section
  • The Missouri Bar
    • Business Law Section
  • Securities Board of Colorado, 2012-2018
    • Chair, 2017-2018
    • Vice Chair, 2016-2017
  • Hope House of Colorado
    • Strategic Planning Committee, Former Member
  • Legal Aid Foundation of Colorado
    • Board of Trustees, Former Member
  • University of Kansas Alumni Association

Recognition

  • Selected for Inclusion in ColoradoBiz’s Colorado 500 List, 2025-2026
  • Americas M&A Atlas Awards Growth Equity Deal of the Year (middle market), 2024
  • Named to 5280 Magazine’s “Denver’s Top Lawyers” list for Corporate Law, 2023-2026
  • Selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America® for:
    • Commercial Litigation, 2026
    • Mergers and Acquisitions Law, 2026
    • Corporate Law, 2013-2026
  • Selected by Law Week as Barrister’s Best in Corporate Law in Colorado, 2022
  • Ranked in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Band 2, Corporate/M&A, Colorado, 2014-2025
  • Selected for inclusion in Colorado Super Lawyers in the fields of:
    • Mergers & Acquisitions, 2011-2021
    • Business/Corporate Law, 2006, 2010
  • Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers® for Corporate Law in Denver, 2018
  • M&A Advisor M&A Deal of the Year (From $10M to $25M), 2015
  • Judicial Law Clerk for the Honorable Russell G. Clark, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri