Techie gives up million-dollar business to build free digital court tools

Tri, 43, now works as a technology specialist at HCMC’s Region I People’s Court.

Trained in the U.S. as a tech engineer, he combines his lifelong passion for coding with a newfound dedication to legal reform.

He began writing softwares in middle school and won multiple national youth IT competitions while in high school.

In 2000 he received two scholarships, one of which was for an information technology program at the Houston Community College in the U.S. He also received direct admission to a law program at a university in Vietnam, but chose to pursue the U.S. option with plans to return to legal studies later.

After four years in the U.S. he worked as a programmer for a tech firm in Singapore before returning to Vietnam. He launched his own startup in 2005 at the age of 24, focusing on online sports platforms. The company quickly attracted investment from a foreign venture capital fund, and Tri went on to sell the business in 2016 for millions of U.S. dollars.

"With money no longer a concern, I went back to my first passion, law," Tri says. "I realized that every business leader must have a strong understanding of the law. That’s what motivated me to go back and pursue legal education."

Nguyen Cao Tri works as an IT specialist at HCMC’s Region I People’s Court. Photo by courtesy of Tri

In June 2023, while finishing up his master’s program in law and bar training, he took up the position of IT specialist at the District 1 People’s Court following a meeting with Chief Judge Nguyen Quang Huynh.

Huynh, a fellow collector of rare books, had purchased a set of books from Tri online. Tri personally delivered the books to the courthouse and used the opportunity to ask for an internship.

During their conversation he mentioned his technology background and the judge shared his ambition to build an electronic court model. He recalls: "I accepted the offer without hesitation. He asked me how long it would take to build such a system. I told him a year, maybe six months if things go smoothly.

"But I could tell he was not fully convinced. He was not sure whether I was serious or just being optimistic."

Tri was made an intern after the meeting. Over the next six months he familiarized himself with court procedures and real case files, and held regular discussions with Huynh. As the judiciary launched its digital transformation initiative in October 2023, Huynh initiated the e-court project and asked Tri to develop the software.

Any digital transformation process requires data, Tri says. He urged Huynh to establish a digital transformation task force consisting of seven members, including himself. Each was to be paid VND5 million (US$190) a month by the court.

Tri says: "IT sees limited use in Vietnamese courts, often only to manage numbers and statistics. That is not digital transformation."

"Digital transformation means generating data. Digital transformation means fundamentally changing the entire workflow, from a paper-based environment to a digital one, built on a systemic platform."

The greatest challenge, he adds, is not the technology itself, but the change in management style and the restructuring of internal workflows.

"Judges and court staff need to change their work habits, all while still strictly complying with procedural laws and Supreme People’s Court regulations. That is not an easy task; it takes serious commitment."

Thousands of case files accumulated over the years have been digitized at the Region I People’s Court in HCMC. Photo by courtesy of Tri

After taking six months to develop, the e-court software was launched at the District 1 court. The data was uploaded in phases, and the system was complete by the end of 2024.

At the start of 2025 the court transitioned entirely to a digital environment. After the administrative merger of districts, data from the former District 3 and 4 courts is currently undergoing integration.

Previously judges in the Region I Court had to queue for access to a physical logbook or travel between court offices to record procedural documents, Anh says. The process is now fully digital and accessible from anywhere.

Scanning and archiving documents in a digital database makes it easier to track case progress, know what documents have been issued, at what stage a case is in, and whether there are any errors.

The digital archive, containing scanned verdicts and decisions, also helps legal precedent searches, especially for rare cases. When documents or evidence are presented during court hearings, judges can type in the document title for immediate access.

"Digital transformation brings transparency to the legal process and modernizes case processing," Anh says.

Nguyen Cao Tri and members of the digital transformation task force at the Region I People’s Court, HCMC. Photo by Hai Duyen

Commenting on his monthly salary of VND5 million, Tri says: "To me, doing something meaningful for the judiciary and the court system is a part of my personal values. After selling my company, I felt content, so I chose to pursue my passion instead."

Huynh says: "Given his expertise, offering him a more substantial position would be more appropriate. But what matters most is that he chose to work with the court out of conviction. He did not come from a legal background, yet he poured his heart and passion into building software as a gift to the court."

While studying for his master’s degree abroad, Tri saw that courts relied heavily on manual processes, an observation that inspired his e-court idea. To launch the software, the court allocated funds from its own resources, invested in additional equipment, and mobilized workers to build a "clean" database.

"Digital court models are used in many other countries," Huynh notes. "As Vietnam pushes forward with the Central Committee’s Resolution No. 57 on science, technology and national digital transformation, increasing tech usage in the judiciary is both timely and necessary."

He adds that the model has received positive feedback. The Supreme People’s Court is now considering wider adoption in other regions.

Tri has completed his law master’s program and is preparing for the bar apprenticeship exam. "If the courts still need me, I will continue contributing. Everything I’m doing is connected to law, it’s part of my passion."