This article has been written by Manaswini Vakulabharanam, a student studying BA.LLB from Pendekanti law college, Hyderabad.  The author is a second-year student.

     Legal writing is a very important aspect for a law students, it helps the students’ necessary skills for drafting flawless and compelling court filings, contracts, client emails, resolutions, wills and other legal documents.  These skills can help the students develop powerful arguments supporting the stance.  The Legal profession swears with the maxim “Verba Volant, script manet”, which means ‘spoken words fly away, written words remain.’  The various aspects of legal writing involve analysis of fact patterns, presentation of arguments, briefs and memorandums, drafting balance analysis of an issue and drafting contracts and wills.  Now before directly jumping into writing legal articles, we need to look at a few pertinent questions in developing the art of legal writing: Does it require knowledge of advanced English grammar.  Does it involve ornamenting documents with technical complex words?  It is a form of technical writing practiced by lawyers, judges and those on the paralegal profession.  As a legal professional you can improve your writing skills to develop communication skills across various fields.  Skills in legal writing can help you support your arguments, explain things clearly and demonstrate your knowledge of the law.  It also makes your argument more persuasive and gives clarity.  

     Important Rules in Legal writing:

• Writer’s and Reader’s perspective must be taken into consideration.
• The language in the writing matters.
• A writer must avoid repetition of words.

     What is arguably the most important legal writing tip?  Understand the purpose of your writing.  Ask yourself why are you writing this?  What would you accomplish out of it?  What will be the outcome you wish to achieve?

     The first tip to a writer is 1.  Understand the purpose of writing.

                                              2.  Understand the audience.

                                              3.  Do your research. 

     Media and Entertainment law is one of the fields in law that requires a lot of paper work and communication with a client than in litigation.  Media and Entertainment is a fascinating world.  From big screens to celebrities, it is always enticing and equally challenging.  Media and Entertainment industry is such an industry that plays a very significant role in India.  The first thing that comes to our mind when talk about Media and Entertainment is news and movies and we also know that the media and the entertainment industry has a huge influence over the population especially the young minds.  Now, to keep this platform safe for the population to regulate the Media and the Entertainment industry the Media and Entertainment law was enacted.  

     Legislations like Cinematograph Act, 1952, the cable television Network Regulation Act, 1995, The Information and Technology Act, 2000 is applicable for regulating content on mediums of exhibition like cinema theaters, televisions and internet.  

     With two third well known firms in this space and not even a handful of lawyers dealing specifically in media laws, the field comes with a lot of opportunities and with decent remuneration.  With over a 15 lakh practicing lawyers most of whom are working for mediocre or low paying jobs, media law firms pay an above average salary and media houses are paid decently as per industry.

     However making space for oneself does not come easily if you want to work as a lawyer specializing in media laws.

     What should law students and lawyers do to pursue a career in media and entertainment law?

     I believe that with enough hard work and determination anything is possible.  But it helps tremendously to know where to begin.  Once that is figured out, you can take the necessary steps towards a successful career.

     Learn Media and Entertainment laws:

Any lawyer must know the laws first. So you can begin by reading about media laws. There is copyright laws, trademark laws, patent laws, design laws, i.e., intellectual property laws. But that does not constitute media laws alone.

Did you know that defamation and sedition laws in India constitute media laws? Yes, these are two sections from the Indian Penal Code, but form a core part of media laws.

Were you aware that Article 21 of the Constitution of India that guarantees freedom of speech and expression is the genesis of media laws? Yes. It may be constitutional law, but Article 21 is where media laws were born.

There are various bare acts, books, journals, media and entertainment law courses, blogs, websites which will help build your knowledge base. You also need to know about contract laws, negotiation and dispute resolution to put the knowledge into effect.

To understand any legal concept, I prefer to start with the bare acts and then go through the commentaries or articles on a specific topic. They are available in libraries – physical and digital. You just have to look them up. Put in the work. It will work.

     Gain Practical Knowledge:

     The best way to gain more knowledge in media and entertainment law is to work at firms and lawyers who deal with this particular law.  But it is easy said than done.  Make a list of the top firms and lawyers working in this particular field.  You can find their information online. Almost all of them have a careers page or contact details. Just get in touch with them and ask about their internship program or hiring procedure and apply! You can even follow their LinkedIn pages to keep up with the call for intern or job opportunities.

     Writing Articles:

     Writing articles is very crucial.  The lawyers are eternal learners, they have to keep themselves updated regarding the changing laws and to be up to date they have to read articles and sometimes write one to get a better understanding.  Law students and even lawyers should have a habit of writing. The articles should be on the area of law you’re interested in, like media and entertainment laws. If you’re keeping yourself updated about laws and learning, then you would have developed your ideas and take on topics. Just write them! It is that simple.

     Knowing the industry:

The importance of knowing your industry is quintessential for any lawyer. You have to assist advice and work with various departments. Unless you know the ins and outs of the industry and the company, you cannot perform your best. You must understand the industry to know what works best for it. For instance, in media and entertainment, rights are granted territory-wise. So a lawyer representing a producer must realize while negotiating that for a Tamil or Hindi film which territories might have the largest demographic. This way they can focus their efforts accordingly.

     Lastly, is the guide to become a professional in this particular field? NO! this article is just a knowhow, this field needs a lot of hard work, dedication and research to excel in it.

Aishwarya Says:

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