It’s a challenge that virtually all of us face: how do you balance your family responsibilities with work commitments and personal interests? This is no easy feat, especially as demands increase and pressure builds. Woods Cross resident Andy Leger admits he hasn’t quite figured out how to do this perfectly, but he has been able to enjoy all three aspects of life with great satisfaction. 

“I am always trying to figure that out,” Leger said. “I don’t know if I have cracked the code yet. But I made the conscious decision years ago that I would prioritize my family. And I think I have.”

Leger is married and has four sons, ranging in age from 13 to 21 years old. To prioritize his family, he and his wife spend time together traveling and supporting one another in their hobbies. Leger’s wife, Kristin, has run in more than a dozen marathons, and he is her biggest cheerleader. The couple has planned an upcoming trip to Tokyo, Japan, so she can run in the Tokyo Marathon, which would be the last of the six “world major marathons” for her to complete. One of his sons was Field MVP at Woods Cross High School for his high-jumping skills. “We all love sports but are not necessarily into competitive sports,” Leger said.

The family doesn’t travel much internationally but loves spots such as Yellowstone National Park; Sun Valley, Idaho; Disneyland; and various destinations in southern Utah. Leger took the family to San Francisco last summer and stopped in Sacramento and Lake Tahoe too. 

Leger and his sons are passionate about music and performing. 

The two oldest Leger boys perform in the band The Rockees. Andy Leger occasionally sits in with the band for performances. The two younger boys are often on stage and have been involved with CenterPoint Legacy Theatre in Centerville. In 2021 and 2022, Leger and his youngest son performed in CenterPoint’s productions of “A Christmas Story” and “Elf: The Musical.”

Family life alone is enough to keep Leger busy. He also has a demanding profession that requires a lot of time and energy. Leger is a lawyer, practicing family law. He focuses on issues such as divorce, child support, child custody, paternity, protective orders and related matters. 

“I represent parties who find themselves unfortunately dealing with litigation related to these issues,” he said. “Most people do not want to go to court. I try to resolve things as amicably and non-contentious as possible but making sure my clients are not bullied.”

Leger has began practicing law in 2005 after graduating from law school. Family law has always been his focus, though he spent time doing criminal defense too. Since 2013, he has almost exclusively taken family law cases. In 2017, he began his own practice, opening Leger Family Law in Bountiful. 

A television show and a high school play were early influences in Leger’s decision to pursue a legal career. 

“I always enjoyed movies and television shows involving court,” he said. “’Perry Mason’ was a favorite when I was a kid. I played a lawyer in high school in the play ‘Inherit the Wind.’ I really was drawn to the courtroom experience.”

Working in family law can be challenging, and Leger certainly handles some emotion-filled, sensitive cases. However, in such a difficult profession, Leger does find great satisfaction in his work. 

“Helping my clients solve their problems is definitely fulfilling,” he said. “But another part of my job involves consulting with potential clients needing guidance to help them make important decisions – whether to stay married or get divorced, for example, or whether to take their ex-spouse to court to enforce a previous order, or sometimes they have a lawyer but are concerned they are not being adequately represented. Oftentimes, a person walks out of my office after such a meeting feeling more peace of mind and more confident to make a decision. Those are some of my most fulfilling moments, even though it often means they are not going to hire me right away.”

The stress of working in family law can be daunting, and it is not always easy for Leger to leave his work behind and devote his full attention to family responsibilities and hobbies. Though he has worked from home in the past, Leger is moving away from that and making a distinction between the two more fully. 

“Practicing family law is a stressful endeavor requiring a lot of attention, and unfortunately it is not easy to leave at the office when I come home from work,” he said. “When I began my solo practice, I did a lot of work from home, but especially during the pandemic. Lately, I have been keeping home life and work life more separated by doing most of my work away from home.”

When he’s not helping clients with family issues, and when he’s not at home or traveling, you might find Leger on stage singing a Beach Boys or Beatles song. 

During Leger’s time in law school, his father and some of his father’s friends started the band Endless Summer. The band began as both a Beatles cover band and a Beach Boys cover band. Over the years, at times the band has steered closer to Beatles music, while at other times, it played more Beach Boys music. Most often, the band has covered a variety of ‘60s classic rock music with an emphasis on the Beach Boys. 

Leger joined the group in 2007, but his love of music began much earlier when his parents were both in a band, and his grandfather was a local performer.

“As I got older, I discovered I loved singing and performing,” he said. “I learned how to play piano and guitar, mainly to accompany myself singing. By the time I was a teenager, I was playing in bands with friends and with my dad and his friends. Then as I got older, my dad’s friends were also my friends, and we were all playing together. When I was in law school, I did not play as much as I would have liked.”

Leger has usually been on keyboards with Endless Summer and when he has played in other performances. He sometimes plays bass or guitar as well. The time he spends performing or rehearsing has varied over the years. When he joined Endless Summer, the band had gigs just about every other week and rehearsed weekly. That pace hasn’t continued for 16 years, though the band has performed at West Bountiful’s 4th of July Celebration nearly every year since the mid-2000s. Endless Summer has also been involved with Bountiful City’s Concerts in the Park series almost every year since its inception in the early 2010s. Leger has also performed a concert every January for the past few years in West Bountiful. 

“I am really grateful for every opportunity I get,” he said.  

Lately, Leger has embraced a style of music called “yacht rock,” which is basically soft rock music from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Artists such as Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross and Kenny Loggins fit into the category. Leger said he has a “little side project going to do a yacht rock wedding band.”

For someone whose time is precious with family and work duties, what does music do for Leger?

“I just love performing,” he said. “I love singing. I love playing instruments. I love combining my performance with other performers. I love coming up with an arrangement for a song or performing a song in a unique way, or with even just a slight twist to what everyone has heard before. When I was a little kid, I remember going to the school talent show and being amazed by the way the kids would applaud for other kids. Usually after every performance, there would be polite clapping, but on occasion the kids would erupt in screaming. That is when you knew the audience really loved the performance. I remember singing ‘Old Time Rock and Roll’ for the school talent show in fifth grade and getting the screams after the song was over. I was hooked. But honestly, for the last 15–20 years, the applause is appreciated, but it is not what keeps me wanting to perform. If I come away from a gig feeling like I did a good job, I feel elated.”

Leger also said whenever he is playing, he tries to make the music uplifting, positive and full of energy. He believes even slow ballads can have a lot of energy. 

Certainly, Leger isn’t the only person working in a demanding profession who has a family and still manages to pursue hobbies. But his experience is proof for those who struggle with life’s demands that balance is possible and rewarding. 

“If you love to do something, and it is something good, you should make time for it,” he said. “When I was much younger, I probably would have loved to become a world-famous rock star. In reality, most people do not become world-famous rock stars. But we can be ‘rock stars’ to our family, our friends and our neighbors. I truly believe that my hobby has made me a better member of my community than I would be without it. My hobby has had an enormously positive impact on my role as father. It has enabled me to spend quality time with my dad as we have performed in Endless Summer Band over the years. And my hobby has enabled me to cope with the stress of a demanding career.”

Ultimately, it all comes down to family. Leger knows that without those he loves most backing him in everything he does, life would be much different. 

“If I didn't have a supportive family, I would probably be living in a van down by the river,” he said.