It is a well-known fact that when facing a trial many Americans prefer to be judged by a jury of their peers. But what about people, who came here from other countries? Who speak other languages? What about those, whose cultural baggage is very different from that of America's mainstream?
Continue reading "Spanish-Speaking Minorities Favor Judges Over Juries, Study Shows" »
As the need for highly skilled court interpreters continues to grow, the national and local media outlets increasingly focus on the case in Montgomery County, in which charges against a man accused of raping and repeatedly molesting a seven-year-old girl have been dropped because the court took too long to find an interpreter fluent in Vai, the defendant’s native language.
Continue reading "Lack of Court Interpreter Leads to Dismissal of Sex-Abuse Charges" »
As your law firm launches yet another discovery in transnational litigation, or continues its patent prosecution work, or starts dealing with foreign-language taped-recorded evidence, you may be swamped by spam emails from Latin America, or China, or India, touting cheap and fast legal translations. The pushy overseas vendors may tempt you to look at legal translations as yet another commodity- such as toner cartridges, or tires. But is it really such a good idea? Consider this:
Continue reading "Ready to Outsource Legal Translations Offshore? Think Again!" »
Is your law firm or legal department working with a professional document translation service? Will the translated documents stand up in court? Have you made sure that your evidentiary documents are being translated professionally, or are they riddled with mistranslations and inconsistencies? Are your attorneys relying on automatic translation, or translation software, or on their own bilingual skills? Or are you working with a professional patent translation service and legal document translation service?
Continue reading "Are You Gambling with Your Law Firm's Document Translation Needs?" »
Of course, you want to reach out to your non-English-speaking client in his language. To educate him about the issues, which can be relevant to his case. You're just trying to help, to offer legal advice to best meet your foreign client's needs. So why is he second-guessing you? Why does he seem so distrustful?
Lawyers often use lingo that can puzzle the average American-born, English-speaking person. A casual mention of prima facie evidence, or unconscionability prompts many clients to beg their lawyers to put these expressions in layman's terms. And we're not even talking about foreign language translation, or foreign-language tape transcription and translation! Consider, then, the confusion, fear, and distrust of non-English-speaking individuals born to a foreign language and culture when faced with a legal problem.
The search engine's Chinese name 'Gu Ge ' is a transliteration of the English word "Google", and means "harvesting song". It was used last April to attract more Chinese web users to this search engine.
Continue reading "Google's Chinese Name Allegedly Similar to a Chinese Company's Name" »
Today, almost one in five Americans speaks a language other than English at home. As the non-English-speaking population continues to increase, so does the need for highly skilled court interpreters.
Continue reading "Highly Skilled Language Interpreters in Great Demand" »
Even if you don’t speak your prospective client’s language, don’t automatically refer him to a bilingual lawyer, fluent in his language. Put yourself in the newcomer’s shoes for a moment. Ask probing questions. Find out, what he wants to accomplish by retaining your law firm's services.
Continue reading "Why Foreign Clients Will Seek You Out-- Even If You Don’t Speak Their Language" »
The opportunities to educate non-English-speaking clients in their languages abound. The only important factor is to determine, what kind of information will be relevant to them. Take, for example, "notario publico".
Continue reading "Language Translation & Reaching Out to Foreign Clients--- In Their Language" »
July 30, 2007 Spanish-Speaking Minorities Favor Judges Over Juries, Study Shows It is a well-known fact that when facing a trial many Americans prefer to be...
July 28, 2007 Lack of Court Interpreter Leads to Dismissal of Sex-Abuse Charges As the need for highly skilled court interpreters continues to grow, the national and local...
July 22, 2007 Ready to Outsource Legal Translations Offshore? Think Again! As your law firm launches yet another discovery in transnational litigation, or continues its patent...
July 21, 2007 Are You Gambling with Your Law Firm's Document Translation Needs? Is your law firm or legal department working with a professional document translation service? Will...
July 18, 2007 Attorneys Representing Foreign Nationals: Uncover Your Foreign Client's Cultural Baggage Of course, you want to reach out to your non-English-speaking client in his language. To...
July 16, 2007 What Foreign Clients Want from Their Lawyers, Not Just from Their Immigration Attorneys Lawyers often use lingo that can puzzle the average American-born, English-speaking person. A casual mention...
