Neil Brown works on a Debian‑GNOME ThinkPad, the primary client machine for his free‑software law practice.
NEIL BROWN RUNS ENGLISH LAW FIRM ENTIRELY ON FREE SOFTWARE
*Neil Brown’s decoded.legal operates on a fully free‑software stack, from desktop to server. The model shows a boutique firm can replace commercial SaaS with community tools, but hardware quirks and migration pains remain.*
Neil Brown, founder of decoded.legal, has spent the past five years running a London‑based boutique law firm entirely on free software. The 2026 update shows a mature stack that spans desktop productivity, client communication, and back‑office operations without a single proprietary license. Brown’s choices reflect a deliberate trade‑off: he accepts hardware quirks and occasional software bugs in exchange for control, transparency, and cost savings. The firm’s model offers a rare glimpse into how legal practices can sidestep commercial SaaS while still meeting client expectations in a tech‑heavy sector.
What free software stack powers the client side?
Brown works on Debian with GNOME on a ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6, praising its fold‑over screen for document markup. The laptop’s Thunderbolt/USB‑C ports deliver power reliably but are flaky for data, prompting a pending replacement. Email is handled by Thunderbird and mutt, with Quick Folder Move and Move Message add‑ons for keyboard filing; a recurring calendar invitation bug in Thunderbird is mitigated by ikhal. Documents are drafted in LibreOffice Writer, converted via pandoc and typst, and occasionally rendered in LaTeX for a client who tracks .tex diffs. Presentations use reveal.js driven by Markdown templates. File management relies on Nautilus, PDFs on evince, Xournal++, PDFarranger and pdftk. Text expansion is powered by espanso, browsing by Firefox (with a note to evaluate LibreWolf), and Mastodon’s advanced UI or the TUI toot for Fediverse activity. Passwords live in Bitwarden vaultwarden, protected by YubiKeys.
How does the firm handle server‑side services without commercial SaaS?
The back‑end runs on Intel NUCs and a reduced fleet of Raspberry Pis. Email delivery uses postfix and dovecot; Brown plans to evaluate Stalwart for a future move. File sync shifted from Nextcloud to Syncthing, paired with radicale for CalDAV/CardDAV after Nextcloud proved problematic. Video conferencing is offered via Signal after shutting down a low‑usage Jitsi server; most meetings occur on external Teams or Zoom links. Invoicing is generated as PDFs by InvoicePlane, while time tracking relies on Kimai v2, whose developer responded personally to Brown’s feedback. Matter management runs on EspoCRM. VPN tunnels are built with WireGuard using trailofbit’s algo Ansible scripts on one machine and PiVPN on another. Vulnerability scanning uses greenbone/OpenVAS, and service health is monitored by Uptime Kuma.
Why does Neil Brown favor terminal‑based tools?
Brown cites comfort and minimal distraction as the core reasons. Terminal applications keep his hands on the keyboard, reducing context switches. He routinely uses mutt for mail, vim for editing, ikhal for calendar, ncmpcpp for music, newsboat for RSS, toot for Mastodon, links for text browsing, and a suite of custom bash scripts. The approach aligns with his view that TUIs are simpler than most GUIs, especially when the workflow demands speed and precision. This preference shapes the firm’s overall architecture, reinforcing a lean, keyboard‑centric environment.
What challenges remain for the free‑software law firm?
Hardware reliability is the most immediate hurdle; the Thunderbolt/USB‑C data instability forces a laptop replacement decision. Thunderbird’s recurring calendar invitation glitch still interrupts scheduling, and Brown has not yet resolved it. He acknowledges a growing unease with Mozilla’s direction, hinting at a possible switch to LibreWolf. On the server side, the mail stack still needs migration to a more modern MTA such as Stalwart. Finally, while the firm has eliminated most commercial SaaS, the reliance on self‑hosted components demands ongoing maintenance and vigilance against vulnerabilities.
Frequently asked questions
What operating system does the law firm use on client machines?
The firm uses Debian with the GNOME desktop on a ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6.
Which file‑sync solution replaced Nextcloud in 2026?
The firm switched from Nextcloud to Syncthing for file synchronization.
How does the firm provide video conferencing after shutting down Jitsi?
It offers Signal for video calls and joins external Teams or Zoom meetings.
Brown’s experiment proves that a modern law practice can survive – and even thrive – on community‑driven tools. The approach forces continuous tinkering, but it also eliminates vendor lock‑in and exposes the firm to the same security scrutiny as any open‑source project. As more firms grapple with data sovereignty, the decoded.legal blueprint may become a reference point, nudging the legal industry toward a more open, auditable future.
Sources: Hacker News article "Running a law firm on Free software (2026 edition)"