The Meridian is a research and intelligence publication covering law firms, lawyers, transactions and legal market activity across sub-Saharan Africa. This policy sets out how records are researched, verified, corrected and presented. Evidence comes before narrative.
Editorial independence
Editorial decisions are made by The Meridian alone. Law firms may submit transactions and announcements for consideration; submission does not guarantee publication, and no record, ranking position or profile can be purchased.
Commercial services, memberships and events are run separately from research and do not influence rankings or coverage.
Sources and verification
Records are built from primary and reputable sources: company and issuer disclosures, regulatory and exchange publications, court records, official filings, law firm deal announcements and established financial reporting. Data supplied by Partner Researchers is editorially reviewed before it informs any public record.
Each transaction carries a status (announced, pending, completed or proposed) and the sources relied on. Adviser and lawyer roles are recorded only where a source names them. Where counsel is not public, the record says so.
Before a record is published it is checked against the existing database for duplicates. Records that describe the same transaction are consolidated into a single entry, with earlier versions retained in the audit trail.
What we do not do
We do not invent transactions, deal values, adviser roles, lawyer participation, credentials or ranking positions. We do not claim comprehensive market coverage where disclosure is incomplete, and we distinguish verified data from editorial assessment.
Rankings
Rankings are calculated from the published transaction record over a stated evidence period, then reviewed editorially. The criteria are set out in the Index Methodology and the Lawyer Index Methodology.
Profiles and photographs
Professional profiles draw on official biographies, firm profiles, court records and professional publications. Photographs are used only where they can be matched to the correct individual; otherwise a neutral placeholder is shown.
Corrections
Errors are corrected promptly once verified. To request a correction or submit evidence, write to am@themeridian50.com with the record link and supporting source.