Academic Proofreading & Translation | Lex Academic

Editing for researchers, by researchers

Our bespoke author service at Lex Academic combines two strands of venerable editorial expertise. First, our technical language copy-editing aims at perfecting scholarly work—from the level of argumentation to the finer points of punctuation. Second, our broader editorial wisdom directs your scholarship towards the most appropriate journals and publishing houses. This powerful conjunction of academic research expertise and the most exacting linguistic standards constitutes a proven formula in getting your work accepted for publication the first time around. We specialise in the humanities and social sciences, with increasing experience in STEM subjects.

Our mission is to give you a competitive advantage in academic publishing

Based in Chelsea, London, we are an author services firm with a humane mission. Spearheaded by Oxbridge-educated academics, we boast 20 years’ editorial experience with over 100 research publications between us. We have particularly strong expertise in Classics and Philosophy proofreading.

We appreciate the challenges encountered by academics in the hyper-competitive publishing space, especially those who are not native speakers of English. While our editing service may be considered a competitive advantage in gaining entry to the top journals, it also helps to level the playing field for those who might otherwise be held back by writing in their second or third language. Language should never be a barrier to publication: that is why a proportion of our profits go towards our two Lex Academic Scholarships, funds that support humanities and science postgraduate students with dyslexia.

We have looked after the manuscripts of hundreds of academics and PhD students, enabling native and non-native English speakers alike to place their work with leading journals and prestigious publishing houses. Our clients have placed their work with PLOS One, Public Law, Mind & Language, The Classical Review, The Classical Quarterly, Journal of Philosophy, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Bayesian Analysis, Mind, Canadian Journal of Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy, Journal of Mathematical Psychology, Journal of Management Studies, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, Social Policy and Society, Synthese, and Ratio.

We are proudly staffed by editors with PhDs from the world’s most illustrious institutions. Our Managing Director, Louise Chapman, guides and quality controls the entire editorial process, meaning that all work is scrupulously scrutinised before being reunited with its author. Clients can, of course, request that Louise edits their work.

Our unparalleled author service ensures your work is submission-ready with a tailored menu of proofreading and editing services that promote publication success. Our services extend to editing grant funding applications (e.g., European Research Council, Leverhulme, British Academy, Wellcome Trust, and AHRC/ESRC), academic job applications (including teaching philosophies, CVs, and impact cases), and PhD dossiers. It is our mission to get your academic career off to a flying start.

About our founders

Our Managing Editor, Louise Chapman, is a consummate editorial professional and educational consultant. Her perfectionistic approach to proofreading—combined with a compassionate, client-centred ethos—ensures that your manuscript receives the care and attention it deserves. Educated at Oxford (MSt) and Cambridge (PhD), Louise combines subject expertise in Philosophy and Classics while also dispensing decades of experience in academic writing and editing. She has copy-edited hundreds of PhDs and academic monographs in the humanities and social sciences, exceeding expectations at every turn. During her academic career, Louise won over $250k in research funding from the world’s most elite universities. She has helped dozens of academics transform grant applications into fund-securing proposals, including Horizon 2020 and European Research Council (ERC) bids. Louise’s editorial work extends to indexing books and edited volumes for the world’s most renowned publishing houses, including Oxford University Press, Peeters, and Routledge.

Our Founding Editor, Constantine Sandis, is a Professor of Philosophy, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and Trustee of the Royal Institute of Philosophy. Constantine read Philosophy & Theology at St Anne’s College, Oxford and has hundreds of publications to his name, including books with Bloomsbury, Cambridge University Press, Palgrave Macmillan, Routledge, and Wiley-Blackwell. Constantine edits Bloomsbury’s Why Philosophy Matters and Palgrave Macmillan’s Philosophers in Depth series, as well as Anthem Studies in Wittgenstein. As Associate Editor of Philosophical Explorations, Professor Sandis knows what it takes to publish with leading journals and guides the Lex Academic editorial process with this wisdom. Professor Sandis has extensive experience taking authors (as well as volume editors) to contract in his capacity as editor for various series published by Palgrave Macmillan, Anthem Press, and Bloomsbury. He is fluent in English, French, Greek, and Italian and has demonstrable academic proficiency in ancient Greek and Latin.