Soden Legal

A Leading Voice in Family Law

Soden Legal's mission goes beyond legal outcomes. It’s about creating a practice where compassion meets capability - supporting clients through difficult chapters of their lives, while maintaining a culture that prioritises staff wellbeing.

Wellbeing at the Centre of Legal Practice

Soden Legal places health and wellbeing at the core of their operations. Sandra believes that “if we don’t have happy staff, we can’t run an effective law firm,”and this ethos translates into everyday actions - gym memberships, spontaneous donut deliveries, scheduled breaks, and importantly - a hard stop to the workday at 5:00 PM.

This culture stems from a deep understanding of the emotional toll of family law.

"We spend all day looking after clients and hearing really awful stories… to help our staff, even small things like fruit platters and walks in the sun go a long way"

Seamless Cloud-Based Practice Management

Sandra has been a LEAP user since the early server-based days, well before cloud computing became the industry standard. When she launched Soden Legal in 2014, Sandra was committed to making technology a core part of the firm’s operations, recognising its importance in supporting flexibility and a healthy work/life balance. While others were skeptical of emerging technologies, Sandra embraced them with confidence and foresight.

That decision paid off - especially during the pandemic.

"When COVID hit, we ran our office off mobile phones and laptops. Our staff took their laptops, plugged them in, and off they went"

Being able to work from anywhere is critical, especially with events like CPD by the Sea, a legal retreat Sandra founded to combine learning with genuine rejuvenation for legal professionals and their families.

“We go to Thailand - it’s warm, sunny, we’re in the pool, we’re learning… it’s something I can’t speak highly enough of.”

Embracing Legal AI

Sandra is enthusiastic about the potential of AI in legal practice, particularly through LEAP’s AI and family law tools:

• LawY: “I absolutely love LawY. It’s fast, intelligent, and helps us find relevant case law without spending hours trawling databases. It’s also a great training tool for junior staff.”

• Matter AI: Used to draft letters and analyse documents, Sandra sees great promise: “I’m excited for the future especially its ability to analyse PDFs like bank statements for patterns.”

• Balance Sheet + & Parenting Calendar +: While still under review by her team, Sandra is exploring these features for their potential to enhance client communication and matter clarity.

As a LawY verifier, Sandra even contributes to the tool’s development, helping validate outputs and expand its training.

“It’s exciting that AI is making its way into the legal industry so that we can streamline processes and work more efficiently.”

A Law Firm Built on Balance

Soden Legal isn’t chasing fast growth - it’s building long-term stability.

“My priority is making sure my lawyers are happy, calm, safe, and respected,” Sandra says. “It’s not about adding 50 people. It’s about maintaining a happy, low-turnover workplace with a high standard of client care.”

That outlook also extends to LEAP: “We’re nerdy about it! But we make sure that tools like LEAP work for us - not the other way around. They should support our people, not overwhelm them.”

Advice for New Firms

“Value yourself and your services. Don’t discount just to compete - there’s enough work for everyone. And make friends with your competitors. It can be really lonely starting out, and having a support network of local lawyers is vital.”

Soden Legal is proving that a progressive, people-first approach can go together with legal expertise. By leveraging LEAP’s evolving practice management suite and leading with empathy, the firm is reshaping what it means to be a family law practice in the 21st century.