Missing apostrophes, football and Reviewed & Cleared - how are they connected?
Missing apostrophes, football and Reviewed & Cleared - how are they connected?
As this year comes to a close - the 10th anniversary year of Reviewed & Cleared, the business having been set up in August 2013 - I might have found the answer. To get there, we need to rewind and take a look at Reviewed & Cleared's history.
The estimable Peter Smith is the man who had the idea for a specialist practice providing pre-publication and pre-broadcast legal advice. Peter, who was called to the Bar in 1980 and went on to become Legal Adviser to Thames TV from 1982 to 1992, was ahead of his time in believing that a media barrister working from home could offer a libel and compliance service for way less than the big firms. In 1992, Peter and his wife Jane set up Old Gold Script Services to do just that - and made a roaring success of the venture.
As Peter says: "We really became known for women’s/showbiz titles like Woman’s Own, Now, Reveal, and Best. Too many TV programmes to mention, but primarily The Big Breakfast, The Cook Report, The Wright Stuff, Seconds from Disaster, Wheeler Dealers, and a lot more. We did many training courses as well, given my lecturing background. Also quite a few books, notably playwright Terry (There’s a Girl in my Soup) Frisby’s grand attack on the legal profession, Outrageous Fortune."
Some 20 or so years later Peter had a yen for retirement in The Highlands and his move there coincided with the realisation Old Gold Script Services needed to expand. This is where David Burgess comes in.
"I'd worked with David Burgess at NatMags for years," says Peter. "Most of my clients knew him: he is very talented and trustworthy. I handed over to David in 2013. My clients were all happy with the change."
With David Burgess at the helm, Old Gold Script Services morphed into Reviewed and Cleared. David's entrepreneuralism, business savvy and excellence as a lawyer, not to mention the arrival of Katie Burgess (who took on the behind the scenes administration) saw him take the business to the next level – and then some. Soon David needed more hands on deck. Seasoned content lawyers such as Louise Hayman, Sean McTernan, Felicity Price, Louise Lambert, Clare Hoban and myself were delighted to join. David agreed a deal with Wiggin LLP to secure its support, not least in the form of one of the UK's foremost litigators, Caroline Kean. Yet more lawyers arrived and so did a team of experts in neg checking and clearance services. The business grew and grew.
Times change. Along came a great role at Netflix and David departed. That left Wiggin as R&C's sole owner.
To fast forward to the present, an amicable MBO with Wiggin led to my acquisition of R&C in May this year. I'm honoured to work with such a brilliant collective of lawyers and clearance experts, for so many equally brilliant clients.
But what about football?
Peter named Old Gold Script Services after Wolverhampton Wanderers. In his own words, he is a diehard Wolves fan. David is one of the Goodison Park faithful. I should be too: my great-grandfather laid the foundation stone at Goodison Park, and is celebrated in Everton's club museum. But thanks to my mother's grandad, and my place of birth, I'm QPR through and through.
And apostrophes? QPR's nickname is 'The Rs'. There is no conceivable reason to put an apostrophe anywhere near 'Rs'. But the club, its fans, its programme - just about everyone associated with Queens Park Rangers - all refer to the club as 'The R's'. And, as this photo [(C) David Burgess] shows, Everton have been guilty of a slight apostrophe glitch on a proud day for Reviewed and Cleared.
Perhaps Wolves stand alone as football's members of the Apostrophe Protection Society.
But football and rogue/missing apostrophes aside, and back to R&C. It's incredible to think how's Peter's visionary idea has grown into the UK's best practice of pre-broadcast and pre-publication lawyers (admirably aided and abetted by Kevin Smith and his clearance team, as well as the fantastic Heidi Jockelson and Trudy Munday). There's a lot more to come next year as, alongside our content work, we grow our business affairs and employment law practices. Whatever we do, we will continue to do it ethically, and correctly, with a passion for freedom of expression at the heart of our advice.
For now, I and everyone at Reviewed & Cleared wish all of our clients a wonderful festive season and successful 2024.
I close with some kind, and accurate, words from Peter Smith (contactable via peter@oldgoldscript.co.uk), the man who started it all:
"There are two kinds of media lawyers – those interested in publishing the truth, and those trying to suppress it. The ethos of the practice was always firmly the former. I’m honoured to be a part, albeit historic, of the work you’re all doing."
Alex Wade
CEO, Solicitor
