File Notes is a limited podcast series with the best legal professionals in the world discussing their career journeys, lessons learned, and diving deep into their areas of expertise.
Our aim is to uncover insights that might help upcoming legal professionals think about their own careers and practical advice that they can use in their day-to-day lives.
The File Notes Podcast is brought to you by VXT, the leading VoIP phone system for legal professionals.
How OneLaw built a cult following with New Zealand law firms
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. (vxt.ai) The phone system built specifically for law firms.
30 Mar 2025
Building Your Unique Legal Brand
Nick Abrahams has had one of the most unconventional careers in law.
From starting a comedy club in Tokyo to attending film school in Los Angeles, helping run a dot-com during the boom (and bust), then returning to the law to become a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright, Nick has built a powerful and unique personal brand.
We cover:
How a Tokyo comedy club and sitcom became part of Nick’s legal detour
What it was like working on ER and The West Wing
The lessons he learned during the dot-com crash
Why going “off-track” helped him build a standout legal career
The origin of Nick's business, LawPath and how it reached 500,000 customers
How AI is already changing how lawyers work
Why you don’t need a passion - you can build one through mastery
What separates thriving lawyers from grinding ones
Whether you’re just starting out in law, thinking about your next move, or curious how creativity, risk, and reinvention can lead to a career you actually enjoy this episode is for you.
This episode is sponsored by VXT (vxt.ai), the phone system built for law firms.
16 Mar 2025
Hunter Steele on Why He Built Smokeball for Small Law
Hunter Steele (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hunter-steele/) grew up surrounded by small law. Now, as the founder and CEO of Smokeball (https://www.smokeball.com.au/), he’s built a legal tech company that helps small firms get more work done in less time.
From his early days shadowing his father in a three-person law firm to knocking on doors in Naperville, Illinois, Hunter shares the journey of how Smokeball found product-market fit, expanded across three countries, and became one of the most popular practice management systems in Australia, the U.S. and the U.K.
We cover:
How growing up in his Dad's small-town law firm shaped his vision for Smokeball
How Smokeball got its first client in the U.S.
Why small law firms struggle with running a business and how technology helps
What it takes to launch and scale a legal tech company across different regions
The surprising success of Smokeball’s AI assistant, Archie
The biggest lessons from leading a fast-growing legal tech company
Why small law firms should be billing more for the work they do
Whether you're building a legal tech company, running a small law firm, or interested in how great businesses are built, this episode is for you.
This episode is brought to you by VXT (vxt.ai), the phone system built for law firms.
Connect VXT to your practice management system (like Smokeball), to sync your contacts, record time and automatically save AI phone transcripts and summaries to the right matter.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
5,005
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Spotify
5.0 / 5
9 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 58 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
76
Social presence
0
YouTube
68
Engagement
32
Contact File Notes
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of File Notes?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
