Boring is not a word to describe family law attorney Kendra Thomas. In fact, her “just go for it” attitude has given her quite the array of life experiences.

One of the most cathartic exercises for any human being as of late has been visualizing a post-COVID world. So, let’s indulge: Picture yourself in a crowded bar on a Friday night in the middle of Hollywood (namely, the Hotel Cafe on Cahuenga, just off of Hollywood Boulevard). It’s karaoke night, and a walk-on steps up to the stage and blows the roof off the venue. Would you ever guess that she’s a family law attorney?

Her name is Kendra Thomas, founder of Thomas Law Offices, and karaoke is one of her many forms of catharsis. For Kendra, not only does she find release in stage performance (whether it be a Karaoke bar or community theater), but she also believes it makes her a better lawyer. 

“I love entertaining, and I love music, which I think helps in law,” says Kendra, who founded her own firm in 2007. “In order to entertain an audience, you need to be able to engage. In order to be persuasive in a courtroom, you need to keep your trier of fact engaged and connected to what you are saying.”

Her firm has two locations, Woodland Hills and Newport Beach. She splits her time and homelife between the two while managing to keep her sense of humor. It only takes a moment of time in conversation with Kendra to realize that her brain works differently than most. And she’s the first to admit it.

Kendra’s Calling

Kendra always knew that her brain processes information differently than most people. Learning new things was not a challenge for her. In fact, she embraced it. Kendra found law with the same “Why not? Just go for it” motivation that gets people up on that karaoke stage. She originally had aspirations of being a doctor but came to realize that she wanted to help people in another way. Having a near photographic memory, she took the LSAT on a whim and scored extremely well. Years later, she’s a family law attorney at Thomas Law Offices, based out of Woodland Hills, California. Kendra and her firm specialize in divorce, child custody and support matters. They also have a Concierge Program for higher net worth individuals that oversees all of the client’s legal tasks, beyond just family law. 

Family Law Keeps Her On Her Toes

While family law can be a bit dramatic and confrontational at times, Kendra welcomes the challenge. Divorce and custody battles are by no means pleasant, but she has her clients’ best interest, and the idea of helping them fuels her. 

“I do dysfunction really well,” she says, “and I liked the business model. Once I started to get really immersed in the Family Law world, I realized how rewarding it was to impact someone’s life through a positive outcome.”

 Just as karaoke gives her a rush of variety, Kendra has to be ready for anything when it comes to her profession. Complex family law encompasses many other forms of law, and her work shifts depending on the client. Some days, she’s in a courtroom, but she’s also certified in Alternative Dispute Resolution, meaning her firm will often attempt to resolve matters outside of court. Sometimes, she’ll even be appointed by the courts to act as Minor’s counsel, which means she gets to represent children.

 “I appreciate that challenge and enjoy that no two days are the same,” she says.

Kendra’s firm also drafts, negotiates and reviews pre- and post-marital agreements, to keep things as orderly as possible for the people she serves.

 “We understand your best life is a life where I am in it, in a professional sense, sparingly,” she says of her clients.

The Concierge Program

Kendra’s services were so good that one client out of Newport Beach decided he wanted her firm to handle all of his legal matters—not just family law. In classic Kendra fashion, she said ‘sure,’ with the caveat that she would have to assemble a team of lawyers that could assist with the matters outside her purview. 

Thus, the Concierge Program was born. Now, she offers this elite service to many of her clients, giving them the peace of mind knowing that all of their legal matters will be dealt with in one place by lawyers they can trust. 

Licensed In Colorado Because…Why Not?

While the majority of her legal presence is in Los Angeles and Orange County, she is also licensed in Colorado—another byproduct of her “just say yes” attitude. A few years ago, Kendra was visiting family in the Centennial State, and they asked for some help with legal affairs. Not only did Kendra offer her Californian legal knowledge, she also vowed (with some alcohol-based encouragement) to learn ALL of Colorado’s laws as well. 

“I then drunkenly committed to taking the bar exam,” Kendra recalls. “It was all fun and games, until word (and video) of my commitment spread and I got signed up for the exam. Although I did not have the time to prep as I would have hoped, as a woman of my word, I took the exam and our Colorado office was born.”

The Jump

Kendra takes these sorts of leaps in her profession quite often, so it’s all too fitting that she loves to take literal leaps as well. She’s been known to jump out of a plane or two, given the proper equipment. Kendra has completed more than 160 skydiving jumps dating back to her teenage days. Most of these jumps have been in European skies, though she loves to jump above American soil as well, namely in Perris, California. 

 Her father helped her find this passion, around the time she and her family immigrated from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Jumping out of a plane together can be quite the bonding experience. 

“I love the rush and the release that comes from skydiving,” Kendra says. “My work is very controlled with deadlines and structure, so I like that there is an element of being able to ‘let go.’” 

Kendra admits that she has trouble finding a work/life balance, despite her many daring hobbies. It seems that, when she commits to something, she commits the entirety of her will to it. There is no way to “attempt” to skydive or “partially” perform in front of a huge crowd, and she applies this same mentality to her work and to her clients. There is a rush in this sort of commitment—jumping into something with everything you have. 

“From preparation to landing, no two jumps are the same,” she says comparing law to skydiving. No two cases are alike. No two people are alike. No two firms are alike. And Kendra Thomas has no problem finding pouring everything she has into her life.