au-delà
(Beyond)
Beyond today Beyond tangible Beyond analytics
An unprecedented pace of change and a competitive market is impacting law firm survival. Strategic advisory boutique AuDela was created to help firms go well beyond survival and to use the opportunity to boost their offering, their people and their market share.
Dominique Graham is one of the clearest thinkers I have met on the future of legal practice management, combining decades of experience with a sharply insightful and no-nonsense mind. She understands the market, she understands law firms and she understands people.
Nigel Boardman
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Along with our core team, we partner with an elite group of acknowledged experts in their field, carefully selected from outside the legal sector to address challenges and add insight to in-house teams and to law firms and their managers, in the UK and across the globe. Together, we form a powerful network that achieves extraordinary results.
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Agile heartbeat and pulse-check technology layered with bespoke research to enhance
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A good culture not only boosts revenue, it is increasingly used as a measure in the selection of law firms, both by clients and by top talent. We work with one of the UK’s leading behavioural scientists to offer an agile diagnostic that goes well beyond the echo chamber. It rapidly surfaces the big issues to offer actionable insights and address the most burning issues. And, in so doing, it embeds behaviours that promote the firm’s culture both internally and externally
“There’s really no such thing as internal culture any more. Your culture is always public, and it’s your most powerful, public-facing asset or liability.”
David Mattin, Head of Trends & Insights, TrendWatching
Communication has never been more important, whether at the client interface or within the firm. Our team harnesses leading expertise in communications and strategic marketing with extensive knowledge of law firms to ensure messaging resonates with both clients and talent, cutting through the noise in a crowded marketplace.
Perfecting client traction and interaction is central to a firm’s performance. Despite firms’ insistence that they have the best client listening systems in place, GCs regularly tell us that their external firms are not giving them what they want and it is far from sorted. Our ‘Clientology’ offering draws on the team’s extensive expertise and work at the client interface, focusing on measurable delivery and sustainable methodology to boost revenues and profits.
"A good day is when I can enable and enhance, working deep under the surface to create clarity with purpose. A good day is when I’ve made even the smallest difference"
As a founding partner of Graham Gill, set up 30 years ago as a pioneering Legal Search boutique focused exclusively at partner level, Dominique’s market intelligence and leadership insights have been widely used by law firm management.
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Much of her work has been around growth strategy and she has accordingly advised on a number of high-profile mergers. An increasing demand for her leadership advisory services has led to the creation of AuDela, designed to help law firms survive and thrive in an era of unprecedented rate of change.
Dominique is an accredited coach, having completed Executive Coaching Programs at Ashridge Business School and Meyler Campbell.
Dominique is a karate black belt which she finds often inspires her thinking in the business place. She says: “In karate when you’ve been hit you know you’ve been hit, but in business you can be walking around wounded without even realising it. We see quite a few “walking dead” law firms and we’re here to help”.
When not at work, Dominique teaches karate and improves her kitesurfing.
CloseDominique Graham is one of the clearest thinkers I have met on the future of legal practice management, combining decades of experience with a sharply insightful and no-nonsense mind. She understands the market, she understands law firms and she understands people.
Nigel Boardman,Slaughter and May
"Ensuring people are challenged, stretched, inspired and excited so that they can perform at their very best: that is what energises me"
Jane was a senior commercial/projects partner at leading firms in the UK and in the Gulf. Having pioneered pathfinding projects and undertaken various management roles during her legal career, she developed a reputation for outstanding leadership and exceptional understanding of client service.
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During her legal career, she took on various management roles including team/group leader, overseas office managing partner, central head of international and an elected member of the Management Committee. She also initiated and led various cross-firm BD initiatives including establishing and leading the firm’s first sector group and setting up a regular networking event for senior inhouse female lawyers.
Jane now brings her practical experience, legal skills and thought leadership to law firm management clients whom she advises on competitive advantage from culture, growth and change. Most recently, her personal focus and ‘sweet spot’ – bringing together her legal background and experience and her passion for the environment – is advising on ESG generally and the climate emergency in particular. She continues to educate herself about the world around her particularly about climate change and sustainability. She was in the first cohort of the Oxford Climate Emergency Programme run by Saïd Business School and the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment (both of Oxford University).
Jane is a natural coach and mentor and has excellent people management and team development skills. She has undertaken the accredited Positive Psychology in Coaching course at New Bucks University to enable her to apply positive psychology principles in her coaching. The course only served to reinforce her firm belief in the importance of positive traits such as hope, resilience and flourishing.and taking optimistic action being critical to businesses being able to successfully address the climate emergency.
Outside the law, she has pursued various business interests including establishing an award-winning boutique luxury hotel in Marrakech and renovating a farmhouse in France.
CloseOver 15 years on - across various roles, industries, organisations, countries and cultures - I still find myself "channeling my inner-Jane". Jane deftly managed a highly diverse team of individuals to deliver a top notch client service high on quality, on time and on budget, but without ever sacrificing the individuals who comprised her team. Jane's empathetic leadership manifested as sustainable relationships with clients as well as a a genuine caring for the well-being and development of her people. Appraisal rounds had a healthy emphasis on what measures to take to further "flourish". Jane simply gets people.
Jane serviced clients across a number sectors, including spearheading initiatives for new types of commercial collaboration and breaking into new markets. Her professional poise, gravitas and grace under pressure ensured that Jane was always heard and listened to, even in traditionally male-oriented sectors and markets. Jane gets how to drive change. Understanding people and change management is a rather powerful combination, I would say. Jane has both in abundance.
Kully Thandi, Chief of Staff, Customer Platforms Board Office at Allianz Technology SE
"I relish creating communications with a personal fingerprint which bring transformative results"
Liz has over 30 years’ experience showing professional firms how to win more business, retain and recruit top talent. She is the author of the bestselling book – The Power of Personal – How to Connect, Convince and Create Exceptional Client Relationships.
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Liz has worked in-house and in consultancy for large, small, international, regional and boutique firms as well as membership associations and organisations supplying the professional services sector.
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"“Change is the only constant.” (Heraclitus) I like change. It's an exciting challenge. Finding straightforward, workable solutions to difficult situations lights up my brain."
Maeve has worked within service industries and the professional services sector undertaking strategic projects and leading large BD & Marketing teams. Her experience cuts across Blue Chip companies and includes Magic Circle, international, top 50 and start up firms.
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After working in senior commercial roles across both the service and legal service sectors, Maeve’s experience and knowledge is solicited by law firm management and their clients. She set strategy and negotiated numerous complex commercial contracts in Argentina, Europe and the Caribbean, developed BD strategies, restructured teams, coached partners, supported board reviews and led on the strategic client agenda.
Her particular focus is developing ‘future forward’ agendas, driving change to secure bottom line benefits and maximising efficiency supported by light touch process improvements & technology.
Having been invited over many years to deliver complex projects and lead large teams, Maeve’s focus on cross-team collaboration stems from her knowledge of how best results are gained. She has witnessed first-hand how an open team culture and diversity create unexpected and often quite brilliant ideas.
Increasingly, ensuring that all these projects are also working to address the climate emergency is something dear to Maeve’s heart.
For fun and relaxation Maeve paints, is a yogi, a hill walker and a certified clown.
CloseMaeve has the rare ability to switch between micro and macro perspectives to ensure the best possible outcome for any project or challenge. Her assertive, charismatic, fair and pragmatic approach considers all of the practical, political and emotional outcomes that may affect the short, medium and long term results. If you have the opportunity to benefit from Maeve’s immense experience in any capacity, take it!
James Scott, Dot-C
"“If you don’t know where you are going, you will end up some place else” (Yogi Berra) "I love to bring together people, ideas, data and processes to create, plan and implement solutions that deliver tangible results""
Mike has 25 years of experience in senior management roles within law firms, covering the areas of marketing, business development, business management, legal project management and legal operations.
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Mike has a particularly successful track record of helping firms or practice groups to identify, prioritise and then implement key initiatives and projects that will deliver measurable return on investment in support of their strategy.
As an early implementer of Legal Project Management 10 years ago, Mike has significant experience in newly popular disciplines of Legal Project Management and Legal Operations.
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""A good day is when I introduce people to new ideas or thinking differently about old ideas and use this to stimulate exciting conversations. What’s even better is when we can turn these conversations into new ways of approaching issues.""
Catherine has been termed ‘the GC’s friend’ for her connections and awareness of the nuances of the in-house legal market around the world. She is an expert on using human centred skills in business and legal and is the author of the much-thumbed book “Business Thinking in Practice for In-House Counsel: Taking our Seat at The Table”.
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Catherine is highly respected for her work with GCs and legal teams, having founded GC Magazine, one of the leading publications for general counsel. She works with in-house legal departments on how to put key business concepts such as purpose, culture change, collaboration and innovation into action.
Catherine also specialises in working with law firms to innovate on client facing programmes and strategies and to create content and outreach that will really resonate with in-house counsel, particularly general counsel.
She draws on her many years of experience as a performer and drama teacher to explore how to bring more creativity to teams both in-house and in law firms. Catherine is also a chartered management consultant.
In her spare time, she enjoys working out, yoga, painting, sailing and running around after her son and dog.
"Every day is a great day - unconditional love means it can't get any better"
As Wellbeing Officer for the team, Caramel has developed a reputation for having an open door policy. Her particular strengths lie in non-verbal communication and the power to heal even from a distance.
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Registered Office: Heritage House, 34B North Cray Road, Bexley, Kent, DA5 3LZ
