Meet Jo Owen – IT Consultant at Lights-On Consulting. Jo is known as an energetic and motivational leader in the legal IT world. In this quickfire interview we get to know more about Jo, her role and her life outside of IT…
When did you join LOC and what is your role?
I officially joined Lights-On in February 2025, although I managed to sneak my way into their 2024 Christmas Party so it felt like earlier.
My role centres on providing strategic legal technology advice to law firms. This can include providing IT Director as a Service for SME firms, offering specialist strategic advice on AI, innovation and legal tech, and providing leadership and guidance for specific, often business-critical, projects.
What does a typical day look like for you?
In winter, it usually starts with lighting a fire and getting some warmth into our remote office, we live off-grid on an old fruit farm.
That’s about where the routine ends. My day might involve delivering an AI awareness briefing to a firm-wide audience, supporting a board-level strategy discussion, or helping an AI steering group develop a strategy aligned to the firm’s vision and objectives.
I could be facilitating a workshop, running a discovery exercise to pinpoint challenges (strategic, project, or technology-specific), or working with brilliant teams across firms to review progress and agree what’s next. Two days are rarely, if ever, the same.
What types of IT projects do you enjoy most or specialise in?
What I love the most is bringing people together to solve a challenge or achieve a goal.
Whether that ‘challenge’ is ‘how might we get the best from technology to reduce repetitive tasks or non-billable time”, or ‘how might we get this business critical project back on track’ or even ‘how might we ensure safe and responsible use of AI’
Everyone has something to bring to solving whatever the challenge is, and I love seeing people work together and embrace each other’s greatest strengths.
How would you describe your approach to your work in 3-words?
Energetic, collaborative and forward-thinking
What’s the one IT challenge you wish more law firms took seriously?
It’s not strictly IT, it’s what I often call “bridging the gap.”
That gap sits between subject-matter experts who understand what they need technology to do, and technologists who understand what technology can do. Closing that gap is where real value is created.
Closely linked to that is change. Change needs to come from the people who will benefit most from it, supported by those best placed to deliver it – with sustained energy well beyond go-live or “phase two.” Too often, the potential of new systems is never fully realised — not because the technology failed, but because the change didn’t land.
What trend in Legal IT do you think firms need to keep a closer eye on?
As technology advances at an ever-increasing pace, being genuinely obsessed with client needs, expectations and experiences becomes a real differentiator. Technology can handle many things, but deep client understanding is where firms deliver the most value.
Alongside that, ESG matters hugely. AI will continue to transform legal services, but it also has significant environmental and social implications. While access to justice remains a key hope, we must also be mindful of energy demands and the risk of widening social divides.
In one sentence, what makes LOC different from other IT Consultants?
What really sets LOC apart is deep, lived experience of how law firms actually operate — the pressures they face, the decisions they make, and how to get things done effectively, from the smallest firms to the very largest.
What motivates you?
I’m one of those people who genuinely feels energised after spending time with others (especially in a good networking session). That’s also what drives my work in technology, using it to make life simpler and more human, rather than adding unnecessary complexity.
Are you reading or listening to any good books right now?
The Way Home by Mark Boyle, chosen because of his decision to live in nature and off-grid, not because he lived without any technology for a year… which still slightly terrifies me, even if it is fascinating.
If you weren’t in legal IT, what would your dream job be?
Working with animals. I nearly pursued a career in equine behaviour and sports massage, I even qualified and spent much of my twenties giving every spare moment to it. Somehow, legal tech won out.
What is your favourite piece of technology or IT to use outside of work?
The strimmer (you did say outside of work). We have ten hectares of mostly terraced land, and maintaining even half of it would be impossible without one. If we’re talking IT, it’s video calls. Without them, I simply couldn’t do what I do as effectively. They’re not a replacement for being in the room, but they’re far better than endless email, and often better than a phone call too.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
Being in nature, with animals and perhaps one day I will again ride horses (just not practical at the moment)
Tea, Coffee (or something stronger)?
Stronger, always! Champagne if you’re asking…