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Neil Brown, who runs the small English law firm decoded.legal, published a November 2026 update describing the free software he uses for legal work and firm operations. He reports moving file synchronisation from Nextcloud to Syncthing and CalDAV and CardDAV to Radicale, while most of his setup remains unchanged. The account is one practitioner’s experience, not an evaluation of legal-sector software or a claim that the setup suits every firm.
Neil Brown, who runs decoded.legal, a small English law firm focused on internet, telecoms and technology law, published an update on November 6, 2026 describing the free software he uses across the firm’s computers and servers. The report says his overall setup is largely unchanged, but he has replaced Nextcloud for file synchronisation with Syncthing and uses Radicale for calendar and contact syncing.
Brown says he has run the firm on free software on both client and server systems for about five years, after using such software personally for longer. His latest post follows earlier accounts published in 2022 and 2024. It is a first-person account of his own tools and experience, rather than a formal audit or a recommendation for other law firms.
On his main computer, a ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6, Brown uses Debian with GNOME. His document work includes LibreOffice Writer for Word-format exchanges with other lawyers, and Markdown with Vim, Pandoc and Typst for other documents. He also lists Thunderbird and mutt for email, Firefox for browsing, and tools including Evince and Xournal++ for reading and annotating PDFs.
Most of the services Brown lists on the server side are self-hosted; he identifies Signal as the exception. The firm uses Postfix and Dovecot for email, Syncthing for file syncing, Radicale for calendar and contacts, InvoicePlane to generate PDF invoices, Kimai for time tracking, and EspoCRM for matter management. Brown says clients do not interact with InvoicePlane. He also lists WireGuard for VPN access and Uptime Kuma for monitoring.
A Small Firm’s Self-Hosted Workflow
The report offers a concrete example of how one small legal practice combines desktop software with self-hosted services for routine work, from email and documents to time tracking and matter management. That is relevant to firms weighing control over their own systems against the demands of setup, maintenance and troubleshooting. Brown’s post describes what he uses; it does not compare costs, security outcomes or performance against commercial alternatives.
His account also shows that relying on free software does not mean every service is run independently or that every application is trouble-free. Brown says he joins other people’s Teams and Zoom meetings through a browser, and he now offers Signal after turning off his Jitsi server because it saw little use. Readers should treat the setup as one practitioner’s experience, not evidence that the same mix will meet another firm’s client, regulatory or operational needs.
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Changes Since the 2024 Update
Brown frames the post as a response to someone asking what he currently uses. He says the core approach has remained mostly the same since his previous updates, while naming several adjustments. The most substantial service change he describes is leaving Nextcloud, which he says caused more problems than it solved, for Syncthing and Radicale. He reports being happy with that replacement combination, without providing usage figures or a detailed technical comparison.
He also says he stopped running Jitsi a few months before writing the post. Although he remains positive about Jitsi, he says he was hosting it for little use because he generally joined meetings arranged by others. On the desktop, he continues to use Debian, but reports that the USB-C and Thunderbolt ports on his laptop are unreliable for data even though they work for power. He says he may need a replacement machine but has not decided what to buy.
“Everything here – other than Signal – is self-hosted”
— Neil Brown, decoded.legal
Open Questions About Reliability and Scale
The post does not provide independent testing, security audit results, cost comparisons or information on how the arrangement would perform for a larger firm. It also does not describe backup and disaster-recovery procedures in detail, or explain how the firm evaluates client confidentiality and other legal obligations across the listed services. Those points cannot be inferred from the software list alone.
Brown says the laptop’s USB-C and Thunderbolt data connections are unreliable and that he may replace it, but he has not chosen a model. He also says he needs to move the firm’s mail infrastructure and wants to look at Stalwart; the post does not give a timetable or say that a migration is underway. His mention of recurring calendar invitations causing problems in Thunderbird is similarly limited: he says he has not investigated the issue, while ikhal handles them correctly.
Mail Migration and Laptop Decision
Brown identifies two possible next steps: moving the firm’s mail infrastructure and selecting a replacement laptop if the current machine’s data-port problems require it. He says he wants to examine Stalwart as a possible mail option, but has not announced a decision or migration date. The report gives no further milestones for either change.
For now, Brown’s November update records the firm’s current software choices and a few practical frustrations, rather than a planned overhaul. Any future update would be needed to confirm whether the mail system changes, which laptop he chooses, and whether the Thunderbird calendar issue is resolved.
Key Questions
Who published the 2026 software update?
Neil Brown, who runs decoded.legal, a small English law firm focused on internet, telecoms and technology law, published it on November 6, 2026.
What changed since Brown’s earlier reports?
He replaced Nextcloud for file synchronisation with Syncthing and uses Radicale for calendar and contact syncing. He also stopped running Jitsi and now offers Signal for video calls.
What software does the firm use for documents and time tracking?
Brown lists LibreOffice Writer for Word-format documents and Kimai for time tracking. He also writes in Markdown using Vim and converts files with Pandoc and Typst.
Is Brown planning to change the firm’s email system?
He says the mail infrastructure needs to be moved and that he wants to look at Stalwart. He does not give a migration date or say that a final choice has been made.
Does the report show that this setup works for every law firm?
No. It documents one small firm’s experience and does not provide comparative cost, security or performance data for other practices to rely on.
Source: decoded.legal
