Editorial standards
How we source, check and correct what we publish.
Where our reporting comes from
We build stories from primary sources: firm announcements and filings, court judgments, official documentation, regulatory guidance, and the practitioners and clients involved.
Where we learn of something from a press release or another publication, we treat it as a lead and go back to the original source before we write. We do not republish press releases or wire copy as articles, and we do not rewrite other publications' reporting.
AI assistance and human review
Much of our news starts from official sources: tribunal judgments, regulatory decisions, Gazette notices and official statistics. Software drafts these reports from the source, in most cases with the assistance of AI tools, and every draft goes through automated checks first: each figure must appear in the source, each quotation must match the source word for word, dates are written in full, and possible duplicates are flagged.
Since 24 October 2026, Sam Allcock reads every story before publication, except stories based on press releases submitted to Free Press Releases (our sister press release service), which publish after automated checks against the release and are marked as such. Any other story he does not approve is not published. Reports drafted this way are labelled as automated on the page.
Most news reports run under the name of the publication rather than an individual byline. Contributed articles carry the author's own byline.
Briefings and embargoes
We do not agree to copy approval, and we do not share questions or lines with a firm or its advisers before publication. Where we were briefed or given access rather than obtaining material independently, we say so in the article where it is relevant.
Keeping the record straight
Law Week is a new title, launching in 2026. Where a story develops - a judgment is appealed, a deal completes, an appointment takes effect - we update or follow it rather than leaving an incomplete account in place.
Where an article has been materially updated after publication, we say so and give the date.
Images
Where we have a photograph, screenshot or official image of what we are writing about, we use it and we say where it came from.
Charts and case cards are drawn by Law Week from the official data or decision, and say so.
Where we have no image of the subject, we use no photograph: the article carries a Law Week section graphic instead. We do not use library or stock photographs as illustrations, because a picture that merely looks right implies something untrue.
All images are hosted on this site rather than loaded from elsewhere. Nothing on these pages is fetched from a third party.
Corrections
We will correct anything we get wrong, and say that we have. Corrections are noted on the article with the date rather than made silently. Send them to editor@lawweek.co.uk.
Independence
Advertising has no influence on what we cover. Sponsored material, if we carry any, is labelled as such and is not presented as reporting. Where we have a commercial relationship with a company we are writing about, we disclose it in the article.