Legal Expertise
Wolken provides expertise in legal from varied backgrounds. Practice Management and revenue as well as professional practice and change management. Wolkens expertise provides many years of legal client development at the highest leve.
Michael Beilby
Michael has an exceptional range of experience in diverse organisations, the last 13 years in CEO roles. A range of training and experience together with this diversity of background allows him to advise a variety of organisations on new ways of approaching business challenges.
He arrived in Australia from the U.K. in 1974 and spent the first 4 years in accounting and administration roles in the manufacturing industry.
In 1978 he joined ICL Computers as a Financial Controller, and after 2 years moved to sales. Following his success in Major Account sales he took on sales management and then regional business management roles. During his time with ICL, Michael directed a national sales force, as well as managing the change from being a hardware vendor, to a supplier of business solutions with a substantial services component.
In 1992, Michael left the IT industry to take up the role of General Manager of Willoughby City Council. His commercial background was the key factor in a Council program of change resulting in improved organisational effectiveness coupled with greater staff loyalty and retention, improved communication with stakeholders and a stable financial environment due to close attention to both revenue and costs.
In 1997, Michael was invited to become CEO of Cowley Hearne Lawyers, a mid sized commercial law firm. Again a program of change resulted in significantly improved profitability. Michael implemented strategies to ensure better staff retention (a key factor in the competitive legal market where knowledge management is vital) as well as improving the firm’s marketing and client relationship management.
With a business studies degree and an early background in accounting, Michael is always aware of the financial imperatives of developing appropriate solutions. Michael drives both positive change and the effective management of an organisation’s total resources as the key to improved business performance and a better bottom line.
Michael is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management.
Graham Cowley
Emeritus legal business advisor
Mr Cowley was the founder of Cowley Hearne Lawyers, a leading boutique commercial law firm.
He was also a thought leader on practice development and lectured in Marketing, as well as presenting at several conferences both here and overseas.
His involvement as a Deputy Chair in Meritas, a worldwide affiliation of commercial law firms www.Meritas.org also provided an insight into the issues facing law firms around the world.
Graham has now retired from active practice and is currently Chairman of Epilepsy Action www.epilepsy.org.au
Graham can provide specialist advisory services if required.