Translation For Lawyers

We've blogged about intellectual property translation, legal online translation and language translations in the context of probative value of foreign language Web site evidence. In the case Elsevier B.V. v. United Healthgroup Inc., S.D.N.Y. Jan. 14 2010, the plaintiff claimed that the provision of the Copyright Act requiring copyrights to be registered prior to infringement violated the Berne Convention and thus were preempted by the US Constitution.

Continue reading "Translation Services and Unregistered Foreign Copyrights in U.S. Courts" »

We've blogged about legal translation services and legal interpreters in the context of admissibility and exclusion of foreign language testimony and about translators and interpreters as expert witnesses in federal courts. Expert testimony is frequently needed in international family law cases, and such testimony is often secured in cases concerning international child abduction, particularly in cases in which one parent is seeking to prevent the other from having overseas visitation with the child or relocating with the child to another country.

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Professional translation services are important not only in the context of foreign-language wills and probate, but also for estate planning in an international setting. One of the major concerns of many Americans living abroad is the lack of an Estate Tax Treaty between the US and their country of residence. The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 gradually reduced the top tax rates and raised estate tax exemption levels through 2009.

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Professional translation services play an important role in managing pension funds. Several groups of multinational and multilingual companies are working out structures to pool the assets and liabilities of their different local pension plans within one single cross-border institution.

One of the reasons in favor of a pooled pension institution relates to economies of scale, which can be realized when pooling pension assets and liabilities. Economies of scale offer more and better investment opportunities, reduction of costs and better negotiation positions in such areas as pension fund administration, asset management, statutory reporting, actuarial assistance and other management services.

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One area that always seems to be a hotbed for malpractice suits is client billing. It's difficult enough when the client is within your jurisdiction - and it only becomes more complex when you bill clients across the globe. For instance, if the client speaks a foreign language, then your bill should have a foreign language translation that clearly outlines all services, fees and charges. You should also become familiar with customary billing practice of the country your client lives in - which may require a foreign language translation of local laws and codes of ethics. For example, in many countries hourly billing is viewed as highly suspect.

The solution is often a mixture of creative billing strategies tailored to keep your international clients satisfied. Here are some ideas:

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We've blogged about the importance of professional translation services in international arbitration. Most countries have statutes that not only recognize foreign issued arbitral awards, but also provide the requirements for enforcement and, when needed, recourse. Take, for example, France. According to its national code, Title VI - Recognition of, Enforcement of and Recourse Against Arbitral Awards Made Abroad or in International Arbitration, Article 1498 states:

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We've blogged about legal translation services in the context of authenticating foreign government documents, and about language translation and the probative value of foreign website evidence. Typically, authenticating documents for evidence is rather straightforward. However, when the document is a screenshot of a given website or - as often is the case now - a social media site like Facebook, attorneys are running into significant challenges. This is even more the case when the screenshot is of a foreign-based website or in a foreign language.

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Professional translation services play an important role in arbitration as it is becoming increasingly common for parties to submit disputed international contracts to arbitration. The reason for this is that arbitration offers several distinct advantages over litigation in foreign courts - namely the ability to select the place, language, decision maker and procedure for the arbitration.

Continue reading "Document Translation Services and Successful International Arbitration" »

Although by agreeing to arbitration the parties involved are free to determine the procedure applicable to their arbitration, national laws will nonetheless have a significant impact on arbitral proceedings. In fact, all arbitral proceedings are governed by a codified procedural law (lex arbitri), which is often not the same as the law governing the parties' contract. Usually the parties do not choose lex arbitri and instead select only the law governing their contract. When this occurs, the lex arbitri will be the law of the country in which the arbitration occurs.

Continue reading " Language Translation and the Impact of National Law on International Arbitrations" »

Language translation services come in handy in the context of unfair competition law. Unfair competition law generally exists to punish practices that involve the use of means which are considered incorrect or reprehensible. This being the case, many of the practices punished by unfair competition law have a direct impact on intellectual property rights. For example, acts of imitation that lead to confusion in advertising through the use of identical or similar distinctive signs not only raise intellectual property rights questions, but also unfair competition issues.

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According to the European Commission - who has authority over competition law (Regulation 139/2004 and Art. 83 TEC) - competition law requires that firms proposing to merge must first gain authorization from the relevant government authority. Although firms are allowed to go forward with the merger without authorization, they face the prospect of demerger should the merger later be found to 'lessen competition'.

Continue reading "Translation/ Interpretation Services and Mergers and Acquisitions Under EU Competition Law" »

Legal document translation services play an important role in the context of international attorney malpractice. In a recent case a major international law firm had a negligence claim brought against it by a property consultancy company relating to advice it gave to a client, Northern Rock, on fraudulent property transactions. The claim sought contribution to the £1.6m settlement the company paid to Northern Rock over alleged negligence by the firm on three property transactions.

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Due in part to a recent increase in globalization, there has been a boom in mergers and acquisitions occurring on the international scale and across borders. In fact, according to the Securities Data Company, over $672 billion in cross-border deals are announced annually - meaning international mergers and acquisitions represent one in four of all M&A activity.

Continue reading "Online Legal Translation and Issues in International Mergers and Acquisitions " »

We've blogged about professional translation services and having a foreign divorce recognized in a U.S. court.

When one parent is living in a foreign country, finding a way to enforce a US child support order overseas can be a challenging prospect. Under Section 459A of the Social Security Act (42 USC 659A (1996)) the Department of State and the Department of Health and Human Services have the authority to enter into agreements with foreign countries for child support enforcement. In general, under the law a parent can be required to pay child support by income withholding, and overdue child support can be collected from federal and state tax refunds. Liens can be placed on property and the property itself may even be sold with the proceeds used to pay child support arrearages.

More so, if a person arrears in excess of $5,000, their US passport may be denied.

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We've blogged about professional translation and interpreting services, undue influence and foreign language-speaking individuals' testamentary capacity. In a recent Ohio case, a testator drew an "X" through ten lines of the first page of the will, then marked out the X, struck out the amount of bequest of money and wrote other writings and multiple signatures on the will between and around the typed text of the will, but left the original signature untouched.

Continue reading "Language Translation, Foreign Language Markings and Revoking Wills" »