Guiding Legacies: The Journey and Insights of Isobel Feben
Author: Nelson Thomason
Interviewers: Nelson Thomason & Joseph Tan
Isobel Feben is a Special Counsel at Velocity Legal, a specialist boutique law firm. Isobel has built a broad and dynamic career over nearly a decade in practice, gaining extensive experience in litigation across a wide range of matters. This article traces her journey from law school to specialising in trusts and estates, exploring her early experiences working as a legal researcher, and her discovery of a passion for helping people navigate complex family and legacy matters.
Chapter 1: Law School Foundations
As a Monash University alumna, Isobel undertook a Bachelor of Law and Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Psychology and also taking units in behavioural studies. She credits her background in psychology with giving her an extra layer of insight. ‘Understanding how people think, respond to pressure, and make decisions has really helped me connect with clients and support them through difficult times,' she says.
She explains that empathy and communication are some of the most important skills for a lawyer working with people in conflict. Psychology helped her understand trauma, emotional responses, and interpersonal dynamics – topics that don’t appear in law textbooks but are central in her practice. When Isobel entered the workforce, she wasn’t just equipped with technical legal knowledge; she also had a strong sense of how to work effectively with people in challenging circumstances. ‘It helped me with the part of being a lawyer that’s really about people – how to connect, communicate, and guide them through difficult times,’ she reflects.
Reflecting on her time in Monash, two experiences stand out: the opportunity to study overseas and her experience at Springvale Monash Legal Service. She completed two exchanges: one in Prato, Italy, and the other at Leiden University in the Netherlands. She admits she would have loved to fit in a third. Both experiences, she says, were invaluable for a young person, building confidence and broadening her horizons.
The second defining experience came through Monash’s clinical legal placement program. As part of her placement unit, she volunteered at Springvale Monash Legal Service, where she first felt certain that she wanted to become a lawyer. ‘The theory was interesting, but it was the practice that really drew me in,’ she recalls. ‘Working directly with people and seeing the impact you could have – that was deeply satisfying. I realised that’s where I was meant to be: helping people understand their problems and find a way through them.’
Chapter 2: Life as a Legal Researcher
During her time at University, Isobel gained invaluable insight into the legal profession by working as a private researcher for four barristers. It was an experience she describes as 'fascinating’- not just for the work she did, but for the variety of personalities and perspectives she encountered along the way.
What struck her most was the variety of individuals she met – all highly intelligent, sharp-minded and deeply committed to their craft. ‘I was always impressed by the depth of their knowledge,’ she recalls. The work itself was equally varied, ensuring that no two days were ever the same. Her responsibilities included:
Typing dictations: Many practitioners preferred dictation over typing, and Isobel would transcribe their advice and correspondence.
Legal research: Given a particular set of facts, she would search for cases that might be useful.
Odd tasks: Anything that made their professional lives easier, she was often behind the scenes in chambers helping out.
Library updates: Back in the day, legal resources came in massive loose leaf books. As the law evolved, publishers sent out replacement pages, and Isobel was tasked with updating the textbooks in the barristers’ libraries.
Court library missions: When cases were not online or were so niche they were buried in old reports, she would head to the Supreme Court library. She would climb high ladders, hunting through hundred year old volumes, and photocopy the judgements by hand.
Chapter 3: First Steps Into the Legal World
When Isobel first left university, her heart was set on becoming a family lawyer. She knew she wanted to work with people directly, those facing some of the most challenging moments in their lives, and help them find a way through to the other side. 'I always wanted to work in an area where people find themselves in the midst of a difficult situation, and I could make a real difference,' she reflects.
Isobel began her graduate year at a large commercial law firm that had a family law team. She thoroughly enjoyed the variety of the program: a rotation through commercial litigation, family law, tax, corporate advisory, and wills and estates.
When the firm offered her a permanent role, however, it wasn’t in family law, it was in tax. For many, that would seem like the complete opposite of her original vision. But Isobel embraced the opportunity. Her team primarily advised private individuals and private companies. As she became more established, she began receiving matters referred from other practice areas within the team, including corporate work for family businesses, and gradually, wills and estates matters.
Inside the Supreme Court library, where Isobel researched historical cases and legal precedents.
Chapter 4: Finding Her Calling
The turning point came with her first wills and estates case. She represented a client with a heartbreaking story: a woman who had grown up in difficult circumstances lived with serious autoimmune conditions, was homeless, and had been rejected by her family. Isobel acted for her in a claim against her father’s estate. 'Through what the legislation allows people to do, I was able to help change her life,' Isobel recalls. That experience confirmed her calling: this was the area where she was meant to be.
About three years into practice, she decided she wanted to specialise in that area. Since then, she has built a practice that is both broad and highly specialised, no two files are ever the same.
Chapter 5: Making the Move to Boutique Practice
After around eight years in practice, Isobel made the leap from a large commercial firm to a boutique specialist practice. It was a significant shift, but one that aligned with her values and her vision for her career. ‘I saw better career progression opportunities in a boutique firm. The firm I work for now is a specialist practice, so we’re committed to really high-quality legal advice.' The firm’s philosophy is simple: 'We’re not jack-of-all-trades. Everyone in the firm specialises, and we’re focused on doing what we do exceptionally well.'
The firm itself is young and dynamic, and they have got some slightly different ideas about how to do legal practice, which are quite exciting. That difference was appealing to Isobel. The firm is values driven, committed not only to clients but also having the belief to give back and support the wider community. For example, the firm recently donated 1% of last year’s profits to the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation, a tradition that reflects their belief in responsibility beyond the office.
Just as importantly, the boutique firm places strong emphasis on lawyer well being. Burnout is an all too common issue in the legal industry, and the partners are determined to create a culture where people feel valued, supported, and genuinely happy at work. Part of that culture includes building strong team connections. Once a year, the entire firm, from partners to junior staff, travels overseas together for a retreat. Past destinations have included Vietnam, Singapore, and Bali. 'Ultimately, law firms are their people,’ Isobel says, ‘so it’s important to keep everyone engaged and feeling valued.'
For Isobel, the move was transformative. She looks back fondly on her years in Big Law, describing it as an invaluable experience where she worked on incredible files. But she also recognises how much more aligned this new chapter is with her professional goals and personal values.
Chapter 6: Guiding Values in Practice
For Isobel, the work she does in wills and estates is shaped by a set of guiding values: legacy, justice, fairness and compassion. These values come through in different ways, but together they form the foundation of how she approaches her clients and their families.
Legacy is one of the most significant. Much of Isobel’s work involves helping clients think about what will happen after they are gone. Sometimes this is simple, providing for a spouse and their children, but often it is far more ambitious. She has helped clients set up scholarships, grants, and long-term trusts that will benefit society. She has also helped families create secure structures for loved ones with disabilities, ensuring they are properly supported when parents are no longer around.
Justice is another recurring value. Isobel has represented clients who have been victims of financial abuse, or who have been taking advantage of. In such situations, she sees the law as a tool for accountability, addressing wrongs and providing redress where families might otherwise be left powerless. Similarly, fairness is a theme that arises in many family disputes. While fairness is not necessarily part of the legal test, it is important to many of her clients. Isobel recognises this tension and works to balance the emotional weight of fairness with the requirements of the law, guiding clients through complex situations.
Compassion underpins all of Isobel’s work. For Isobel, compassion means treating clients with respect, empathy and a sense of equality. She takes the trust clients place in her seriously, recognising how difficult it can be to deal with grief, family conflict, or financial stress. Her client centred approach ensures people feel heard and supported, even in their most challenging times.
Velocity Legal’s donation to the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Chapter 7: The Common Misconceptions
Isobel also explained to us some of the many misconceptions that she encounters about her field of work. One of the most common is the belief that challenges to wills are motivated by greed. In reality, many challenges are grounded in genuine need.
The principle of testamentary freedom: the right to leave one’s assets however one chooses, is well established in law. As one judge famously remarked, ‘a person could make a will which said that he gave all his property to X to be held on trust, the terms of which were that X was to arrange for a 0055 telephone number and was to pay the whole of the testator's estate to the hundredth person who rang that number, or for the first child born at a certain hospital in 1998. There is nothing to stop the testator directing that his executor convert the whole of the money into bank notes and proceeding to the corner of George and King Streets at 8 o'clock on a designated night and throwing the money away.’ That is testamentary freedom at its most extreme. But this freedom is not unlimited. Since the early 1900s, legislation has recognised that certain people: spouses, children and certain dependents, must be provided for.
Today, the legislation continues to serve a crucial role. Isobel has acted in cases where children with profound disabilities faced homelessness because parents left their estates equally to all children, without recognising one child’s greater need. She has seen cases where outdated wills left everything to siblings, overlooking long-term partners or dependent children. And she has worked on matters where elderly or vulnerable people were pressured into signing documents without full capacity. These examples illustrate why will challenges are not about greed, but about justice, fairness, and protecting those who might otherwise be left behind.
Chapter 8: Diverse Clients, Unique Stories
When asked whether she could ever see herself moving into another area of law, Isobel doesn’t hesitate. 'I don’t think so,' she says. 'I really enjoy this area. It’s personally rewarding, and it’s incredibly busy.' That busyness, she explains, isn’t just a trend, it’s a reflection of what’s happening in society right now. 'In terms of future proofing, it’s an area where the wave of work in the years to come is just growing exponentially,' she says.
She points to the massive intergenerational transfer of wealth expected over the next few decades as baby boomers pass on their estates. 'With so many blended families, younger generations facing tougher financial circumstances, and property prices being so high, people who might not consider themselves wealthy can still have very large estates. If you own even one property in Melbourne, that alone can create a large estate.' That, she explains, naturally leads to more complex estates, and sometimes, more tension. 'There are a lot of families where the children don’t get along, or where step-relations complicate things. I’m doing more and more work acting as an executor for people who want an independent party to handle things.'
In many cases, her clients appoint her as their executor or trustee, particularly where family relationships are strained or where children might not be able to take on the responsibility. 'Sometimes it’s for health reasons, other times it’s just that the kids aren’t very responsible,' she says. 'I also get appointed by the court to step in where someone needs to take over from an executor. So I feel quite entrenched in this role, and happy to be. It’s still interesting to me, and I’m always learning.'
Isobel smiles as she reflects on what keeps her in the field. 'Every client is different, you never see the same scenario twice. Estate lawyers often say you could write a novel with the stories we hear from families. There are a few dull moments, sure, but we’re constantly challenged in good ways.' It’s that constant variety, she says, that keeps the work fulfilling. 'There’s so much diversity in the people I act for, in the matters I handle. It’s one of those areas where you can be a specialist, but still have so much variety. That’s why I enjoy it.'
Chapter 9: Looking to the Future
Looking ahead, Isobel’s excited about the growing role of technology in law, especially with her firm incorporating AI. While she doesn’t believe AI will replace lawyers, she sees it as a valuable tool to make legal work more efficient, helping practitioners achieve better work-life balance. She’s especially interested in how AI could streamline repetitive tasks, such as accounting and estate management, freeing up more time for meaningful client engagement.
Beyond technology, her focus is also on personal and team growth. Having seen her team expand from three to nine people in just a few years, Isobel is enthusiastic about guiding that continued development and one day, perhaps stepping into a practice leader or partner role.
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'Communication skills are probably the most important,' Isobel says. 'Interpersonal skills too, being able to really connect with people and elicit the right information from them.'
It’s not always straightforward, she explains. 'Not all clients can tell their story in an ordered, logical, or chronological way. Some people are very difficult to interview, so you need to know how to ask the same question in different ways, how to stop and clarify, and how to let them tell you what they need to, even if it takes a few tries.'
She laughs as she describes it. 'Sometimes it’s like excavation work, trying to dig out the information you actually need.'
In many cases, her clients come in with decades of family history to unpack. Some matters involve long and complex timelines, where Isobel and her team need to carefully piece together events that have unfolded over many years. It can be a painstaking process, requiring both patience and precision, but, she says, that’s part of what makes the work so engaging.
That’s where good interviewing and clear communication come in. 'You need to be able to extract the key facts, understand what your client actually wants from you, and be really direct about what you can offer, which isn’t always the ‘magic wand’ solution they might hope for.'
Delivering difficult news, she says, is part of the job. 'You have to be comfortable giving bad news or managing expectations early on. It’s about being honest and realistic with clients, even when that’s hard.'
Beyond communication, Isobel believes that empathy and genuine interest in people are essential. 'You really have to want to help people,' she says. 'If you’re genuinely interested in people and their stories, that empathy naturally feeds into patience and that makes all the difference.'