How OneLaw built a cult following with New Zealand law firms
Mon Nov 10 2025
From helicopter pub crawls in Southland to getting kicked out of university, building a computer business, selling it to a global giant, moving to Malaysia, then abandoning an entire market after discovering firms ran two sets of books, Doug Thomson’s journey eventually led him home to build OneLaw, one of New Zealand’s most trusted legal software systems.
We cover:• How a Southland farm kid became a salesperson who ran his own computer company• Why Malaysia’s “shadow accounting” exposed a market no compliance product could fix• How a retired product left 600+ NZ law firms stranded—and created a once-in-a-generation opportunity• The three-year MVP grind, the quakes that slowed everything down, and the first customers who came on for free• How NZ’s unique trust accounting rules keep global competitors out
Whether you’re building legal software, running a firm, or just curious how grit, timing, and a bit of chaos can create a world-class product from a small New Zealand town, this episode is for you.
This episode is brought to you by VXT. The phone system built specifically for law firms.
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From helicopter pub crawls in Southland to getting kicked out of university, building a computer business, selling it to a global giant, moving to Malaysia, then abandoning an entire market after discovering firms ran two sets of books, Doug Thomson’s journey eventually led him home to build OneLaw, one of New Zealand’s most trusted legal software systems. We cover:• How a Southland farm kid became a salesperson who ran his own computer company• Why Malaysia’s “shadow accounting” exposed a market no compliance product could fix• How a retired product left 600+ NZ law firms stranded—and created a once-in-a-generation opportunity• The three-year MVP grind, the quakes that slowed everything down, and the first customers who came on for free• How NZ’s unique trust accounting rules keep global competitors out Whether you’re building legal software, running a firm, or just curious how grit, timing, and a bit of chaos can create a world-class product from a small New Zealand town, this episode is for you. This episode is brought to you by VXT. The phone system built specifically for law firms.