After her marriage in 1924, Tenison Woods was no longer allowed to remain in the partnership. She and recent graduate Dorothy Somerville then formed the first Australian law firm composed solely of female partners, called Kitson & Somerville. After her husband's disbarring and abandonment of her in 1927, Tenison Woods left the firm to join Bennett, Campbell, Browne and Atkinson in 1928, where she was able to ensure a more secure income. Tenison Woods received a grant from the Carnegie Corporation to study delinquency in South Australia. Her research led to the establishment of a Children's Court with a specially appointed magistrate. She published her first book, "Juvenile Delinquent", in 1925. After her divorce, Tenison Woods moved to Sydney in 1933, where she worked as a legal editor for Butterworths. She wrote seven legal textbooks including "War Damage Legislation", "Ex-Servicemen's Legislation", and "Landlord Tenant and Land Sales Legislation". She also wrote a book of anecdotes with Marjorie Robertson titled "Leaves From a Woman Lawyer's Notebook". From 1935 to 1940, Tenison Woods taught on the legal aspects of social work at Sydney University and was a member of the University Board of Social Study and Training. She was appointed Chair of the Delinquency Committee of the Child Welfare Council of NSW. During World War II, she was on the board of the Women's Australian National Services. In 1942, Tenison Woods received funding from the Children's Advisory Council, the Australian Council for Educational Research and the Australian Trained Social Workers' Association to undertake a comparative study of British child welfare policies and practices. After her return, as Chair of the Children's Advisory Council, she urged the Minister for Education, Clive Evatt to undertake reform of the entire NSW welfare system. When no action was taken, she wrote two articles for the "Sydney Morning Herald" in 1944 highlighting problems at the Parramatta Girls Home and the Gosford Farm Home for Boys, which were influential in leading to the creation of a separate Department of Child Welfare. In 1945, Tenison Woods was invited to speak at an International Labour Organization conference in Montreal, but did not receive a permit to travel from the Department of External Affairs in time to attend. In 1946, she travelled to London and met with women pioneers in a number of fields, reporting to the BBC and the ABC on her meetings. In 1947, she was guest speaker at the first Australian Conference of Social Work. Alongside Jean Daly, Phyllis Burke and others, Tenison Woods formed a group called "Altair" in 1944, with the object of monitoring public officials and convincing legislators and church officials to include women's views on political and social issues.