Alex Wade is a writer, libel lawyer, journalist and editor.
Books
Libel Law
Alex qualified as a solicitor with Carter-Ruck in 1994 and has spent his career working as a libel lawyer for a number of newspapers and publishers, in particular The Times, Guardian and Independent. He has advised many authors and publishers on legal issues in their manuscripts, while also acting for film, TV and podcast production companies. In June 2017, Alex joined specialist pre-publication law firm Reviewed & Cleared Ltd. In February 2022, Alex became Reviewed and Cleared’s CEO and a partner with Wiggin LLP. He then acquired R&C in a management buy-out and scaled the business to a team of some 50 people, working out of London, Dubai and New York. In September 2025, Alex sold R&C to the directors he’d appointed, so that he could concentrate on working as CO-CEO of ClearDraft, an AI-powered legal clearance business. For more information, see www.cleardraft.com.
Journalism
As well as working as a libel lawyer, Alex also built up a career as a successful freelance journalist, writing mainly on law, sport, literature, art and travel. He has written for all the UK broadsheets, reviews books for the Times Literary Supplement, and in 2009 was short-listed by the Sports Journalists’ Association as sports feature writer of the year.
Editorial & Copywriting
Alex has edited media law supplements and microsites for The Guardian, been the editor of Cornwall Today magazine, and worked as the editorial director of a design agency. He has also edited other magazines and blogs, and has worked regularly with universities in interviewing academics and writing content, in particular the universities of Oxford and Reading.