“Do you get sleepless nights when the Court is about to deliver a Judgement just the next day?”, “Are you the one who never leaves the house before skimming through the Editorial?” “Do you like to voice your opinion for or against Judgements, be it judgements regarding the Sabarimala case or The Triple Talaq case?” or “Has Journalism always been your first Love?”
If the answer to the majority of the aforementioned questions is positive, then yes, you have probably found an inclination to the right career path for yourself. If you are someone who has a keen interest in both Law and Journalism, then yes, Legal Journalism is the thing for you. But if you are not willing to read up pages or willing to invest hours in researching about Socio-Legal topics, then you can make a stop, reading this article right here as this article would tell you all about the basic criteria that are required for one to be eligible for this career. “What exactly is Legal Journalism?”, is a question that will pop into your mind. If you are a Layman to the field of law, it would give you the idea that it maybe a combination of Law and Journalism. In fact, one would not be very wrong in assuming this. Be it at the start of any person’s career or halfway down the journey of becoming a lawyer, a lawyer or a would-be lawyer at the end of the day would be required to focus and specialize in a particular field or direction of Law. While branches like Sports Journalism and Criminal Journalism are in vogue in the modern era, Legal Journalism is also gaining popularity at a stupendous rate and hopefully, in the coming days, it will feature amongst the top 10 most attractive career options.
Journalism and Law can be incorporated together rather quite easily as both of the career fields if, thought of separately requires a similar or parallel set of qualities. For Example, if we consider a Lawyer and a Journalist both need the inherent quality of focussing upon minute details. Both a Lawyer and a Journalist at their learning stage must have developed the quality of being able to scan through a document and filter the relevant facts out of the irrelevant points at speed owing to the time strains that the two jobs demand. Thus, it is unequivocally possible to successfully merge these two fields into one and initiate the craftwork of an altogether new career option.

How to prepare oneself for the Career?

Now, it’s wellknown that the scope of earning success without proper planning when it comes to making a career choice is as same as going on an unplanned getaway trip. You never know where you will end up and of course increase the risk of getting lost too. Therefore,  one must have properly researched and prepared oneselffor reaching that particular stage of life one would like to see himself or herself in the next 20 years. From pursuing the proper Education choice to the right training, one must not leave any stones unturned when it comes to pursuing one’s dream career.

PROPER EDUCATION

If one is thinking of opting Legal Journalism just after finishing schooling, then he must get a proper layout planned to get a directional education in this field. One can either opt for an Undergraduate 5-year B.A. LL.B. course and then do a Masters in Journalism or vice-versa. One can also consider opting a double major, one in Journalism and one in Law.However, if one does not have the time or patience to pursue a full-time Journalism degree, he can certainly sign-up for Online Workshops and Diploma Courses, which are offered at hand by a lot of renowned Universities. These courses, conferences and Workshops would certainly help in strengthening one’s resume.
Here, the researcher would like to stress on the qualities which are developed in a Law School and would definitely help students, who want to pursue this particular profession. One quality which every Law student more or less acquires in a Law School is that of Research Writing. From writing papers for College assignments to doing Internships involving research work, a law student has probably faced it all. Finding a Law Student with minimal under-developed research skills is like trying to find the tip of an iceberg.
Research and Communication Skills are an asset to the personality up-gradation of both Lawyers and Journalists. In Layman’s words, Salary in the career field of Journalism is basically earned by conducting excellent research and communication. Journalists are often assigned topics to conduct the research work that they may not be acquainted with at all. However, conducting field research on unknown or little-known topics cannot be served as a challenge for Law school students as law schools would have already taught them the art of research especially via the subject study of Legal Research.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS

Having a professional degree in either Law or Journalism no doubt gives an individual an edge over others in this Profession but this also does not mean that a degree in either Law or Journalism is mandatory for pursuing this profession, rather one should intake a reckoning to check if he possesses the skillsets which will be very demanding of this profession.
First and foremost, one must develop a reading habit. However, if one doesn’t possess this quality, he can gradually develop it with consistency over time. Instead of reading up lengthy judgement documents, one should start with Newspaper editorial blogs and articles. In fact, consistency is the key to develop a reading habit.
Confidence is another key factor in the fields of both Law and Journalism. Therefore, one must brush his confidence by learning the art of public speaking.

GUIDELINES

Apart from these, there are some basic guidelines which one can follow before diving into this career option, they are: -
Internships- Internships play an important role in the development of young inexperienced personalities and gives the quite the exposure that is required. One can look up Internship opportunities in Newspapers or Law Journals. This would not just add value to their resume but also give them an insight into the day-to-day work of Journalists. This would give them the time to decide if they wish to build a full- time career in this field.
Make Contacts – Contact making and networking are important aspects in the fields of Journalism and Law. You never know when and where opportunities might coming knocking at your door.
Ask for suggestions - It is a good option to follow write-ups and published works of personalities successful in this field. One can try and read up on their career journey and can find important takeaways. The best option is to try and get in touch with them. They would probably be glad to guide individuals aspiring to follow their career path.
Blogs and Article writing - Both Lawyers and Journalists play an important role in making a positive impact on society through their influencing works. Therefore, if one aspires to become a Legal Journalist, one should certainly develop a habit of being acceptable to possibilities, not allow their voices to be submerged by bad influences and question opinions.
Make good use of Social Media - One can use their social media handles to promote their work. This way, they would get an audience and will be recognized via their work and not status or money. Seniors in the field may also get impressed by the works and give them an opportunity to work with them.

THE PROSPECTS OF LEGAL JOURNALISM IN INDIA
A Law Degree itself opens the gateway to a lot of career options and when it merges with Journalism, the perks of being a law graduate is only doubled. The fields of Law and Journalism is becoming really popular amongst the aspiring and determined  youths of our nation mostly because these two career options are largely unexplored and exploration often excites the youth age.
Though the field of Legal Journalism is getting increasingly popular, it is not over explored, so a lot of prospects are there for individuals who are new to this field.
This is a field where if one has the talent and skills and has the drive to try something new, then one won’t ever have to look back. Legal Journalism can be lucrative as well as attractive for some.

POINTS TO REMEMBER
The career of Legal Journalism is no doubt very attractive, however like every profession, one must be sure about himself of joining this field. This field might prove to be stagnant for some individuals later in the future. Also, if is just at the beginning stage as a Legal Journalist, he should not be sure of expecting a good amount of salary. On the other hand, if one acquires the appropriate skills and expertise, let alone the concern of a good and high salary but fame and recognition will follow. So, the essence of pursuing a dream career is to be passionate about it and not get disheartened by the sundry of hurdles in the way.
The subject matter of Law and Journalism is complementary to each other. For example, if one is set to become a Journalist, a Law Degree will give him the specialization and expertise  which would give him an edge over other students with normal 3 yrs Bachelor Hons Degree, except of course the students who have done their Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Media Communications.
Moreover, though this field surging higher and higher with popularity, it isn’t over explored, so a lot of prospects are there for individuals who are new to this field.Therefore, if you are a Law or Media Student or a practising lawyer looking for a different career option, you might want to give this field a shot.