5 minute read
We recently had an interesting conversation with Josh Lewis, who features in our most recent edition of our “Meet the Team” series. Josh shares insights about why he joined Xperate, his biggest challenges at work, his future goals and visions for Xperate, and so much more!
Tell us a bit about yourself and your role at Xperate.
I’ve recently taken on the role of Managing Consultant at Xperate, which has been an exciting step in my journey here.
Day to day, I manage a variety of development projects, working closely with both our clients and the development team to ensure everything runs smoothly from start to finish.
A big part of my role is acting as the bridge between clients and our developers, translating client requirements into actionable tasks for the team in Pune. I’m involved right from the early stages of a project, sometimes even before a client officially signs on, through to final delivery. This means I get to be part of the full project lifecycle, which keeps things really varied and interesting.
While I work very independently, there’s plenty of collaboration too. I regularly liaise with the development team in Pune and work closely with my UK-based colleagues to keep projects on track. Alongside project management, I'm deeply involved in consultancy work, leveraging my expertise in the legal sector and technical skills to help clients maximise their project outcomes.
Most of my time is spent in the Winchester office, though Xperate’s hybrid model gives me the flexibility to work remotely as well. I regularly perform on-site work, particularly for clients I’ve collaborated with for over a decade. I enjoy visiting them in person about once a month to maintain our strong relationship.
My focus tends to be on small to mid-sized projects, while larger-scale developments are generally driven directly by the team in Pune. That said, my role is all about making sure each client has a UK-based point of contact to guide their project and ensure everything stays aligned to their needs.
Why did you want to join Xperate, and what is it about working at Xperate that you enjoy most?
I’m proud to be one of the original members of Xperate, having joined in January 2022, just a few months after the business was founded in October 2021. It has been incredibly rewarding to witness our growth and progress since those early days
I’d already worked with a lot of the team before and knew I wanted to be part of whatever they were building next. It felt like a natural progression - joining a team I trust, like, and respect, made the move to Xperate a really easy decision.
Legal tech has been my entire career focus, particularly around implementing PMS systems, but I’ve always had a strong interest in software development. Xperate gave me the perfect opportunity to explore that side of things more deeply, and I’ve gained a huge amount of experience and insight into the development process since joining. What I love is that I have a real say in how things are developed, which I find extremely rewarding.
My favourite projects usually involve integrations. I really enjoy the R&D side of things and love working on new challenges. There’s nothing quite like exceeding customer expectations and then seeing the end product in action, knowing it’s made a genuine difference to how our clients work.
One of the great things about Xperate is that we’re completely independent - we’re not tied to any particular software supplier. That means no limits, and it opens up all kinds of opportunities to keep things interesting and varied.
What challenges do you face in your role and how do you overcome them?
The biggest challenge in my role is definitely juggling multiple projects at the same time. It’s a lot of plate-spinning! Each project has its own strict timescales, and managing a wide range of stakeholders from start to finish means there are always a lot of moving parts to keep on track.
That said, we’ve got a fantastic, collaborative team here, which makes a huge difference. Most issues can be worked around pretty smoothly because of our excellent collaboration. But staying organised and proactive is absolutely key to keeping things running efficiently.
It’s all about being one step ahead - whether that’s with clients, colleagues, or third parties. I also need to be proactive myself, making sure I’m doing the extra R&D or digging into the detail to give the development team the information they need in a clear, useful way.
The legal tech market is fascinating and always evolving, which means there’s always something new to learn. Keeping on top of changes and staying flexible is essential, and that’s something I really focus on to make sure we continue to deliver great results.
What motivates you to achieve success?
For me, and everyone at Xperate, pride in what we do is a huge motivator. It’s really important that everyone who joins the team shares that same drive and commitment. We all take a lot of pride in our work, and none of us want to let the business or our clients down.
That sense of pride is what keeps me pushing to deliver the best possible service and solutions. Exceeding client expectations is a big driver - it’s incredibly rewarding to see the positive impact of our work and know that we’ve made a real difference for our clients.
The employment process at Xperate has been brilliant, too. A lot of us had worked together before, and the new people who’ve joined since have all brought the same mindset and values to the table. That shared focus and team spirit are a big part of what makes us successful, and it keeps me motivated to keep striving for excellence every day.
Where would you like to see Xperate in 5 years?
Looking ahead, I’d love to see Xperate branch out into new and different industries. Legal tech is where we’ve built our expertise, and staying in that space would be the easy route because we know it so well, but I think there’s huge potential in exploring new sectors where we can apply the same skill set and experience in different ways.
It would definitely be a bit of a risk, but that’s part of what makes it exciting. I’d really like to see Xperate expand its reach and reputation beyond just the legal tech world, growing the brand into something even bigger and more diverse. There’s so much opportunity out there, and I’m keen to see what Xperate can achieve as we continue to evolve and push into new areas.
How do you unwind outside of work?
With a young family (my kids are 7 and 5), most of my time outside of work is spent as a family. Weekends are usually packed with trips to the park, day trips or other family activities. This year, I have started to coach my son’s junior cricket team, which I absolutely love. I also try to play a bit of cricket myself during the summer. In the winter, it's all about Hockey, so you usually find me with a coffee in hand watching my wife, my son, and soon my daughter playing.
Spare time is a bit of a luxury at the moment, but when I do have it, I enjoy cooking, baking and dancing around the kitchen with my family. We’ve also been busy renovating and extending our house since December, which has been a challenge and a bit of a project in itself, but we’re almost finished now.
There is always music playing in our house, and I listen to pretty much anything. At the Xperate office, we’ve also made it a bit of a tradition to get the speaker out on a Friday afternoon and play a mix of songs to wrap up the week, which is always a great vibe.
Connect with Josh on LinkedIn here.
