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31 October 2025 / Justin Penrose
Issue: 8137 / Categories: Features , Media , Marketing , Profession
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Making the headlines

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Want the press to notice your firm, lawyer or case? Ex-Fleet Street staffer Justin Penrose reports on what makes the news

As a former Fleet Street journalist turned legal PR, one of the most common questions I hear from lawyers is: ‘What makes a news story?’ Everybody reading this would probably give a different answer, but that’s the crux of it. It is never one thing.

Journalists are always looking to answer the questions: who, what, where, when, why and how? These are the central tenets of every story, whether it be a corporate legal matter or a murder trial.

So, the who. Who is involved? It’s a lot more interesting if it’s David Beckham than Joe Bloggs. Is the person involved a judge or a PR man? I think you can work out which one is more newsworthy. Is there a big brand involved? Again, it is more interesting if it’s Coca-Cola than Dad & Son Builders.

Where did it happen? It’s more interesting if it happened at Buckingham Palace

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Wedlake Bell—Rebecca Christie

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NEWS
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NLJ this week: Driving test fraudsters steer towards jail
Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
NLJ this week: Deepfakes demand data law muscle
As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
NLJ this week: 40% penalty for coercive control
In a striking financial remedies ruling, the High Court cut a wife’s award by 40% for coercive and controlling behaviour. Writing in NLJ this week, Chris Bryden and Nicole Wallace of 4 King’s Bench Walk analyse LP v MP [2025] EWFC 473
NLJ this week: Mbappé row spotlights ‘ethics bonuses’
A €60.9m award to Kylian Mbappé has refocused attention on football’s controversial ‘ethics bonus’ clauses. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Estelle Ivanova of Valloni Attorneys at Law examines how such provisions sit within French labour law
NLJ this week: Appeal court reins in ‘wrong defendant’ switcheroo

The Court of Appeal has slammed the brakes on claimants trying to swap defendants after limitation has expired. In Adcamp LLP v Office Properties and BDB Pitmans v Lee [2026] EWCA Civ 50, it overturned High Court rulings that had allowed substitutions under s 35(6)(b) of the Limitation Act 1980, reports Sarah Crowther of DAC Beachcroft in this week's NLJ

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