Translation For Lawyers

When a will is written entirely in a foreign language or uses foreign words, issues of determining the testator's intent may arise. According to the decision of Lowenthal v. Rome, a mere foreign language translation of the foreign language term is not enough to determine intent as the court has a duty to determine the testator's intent by "looking at the language in the light of the surrounding circumstances." 57 Md. App. 728, 471 A.2d 1102 (Ct. App. 1984).

Continue reading "Certified Document Translation for Estate Planning and Probate Attorneys, and Finding Intent in a Foreign Language Will" »

As more companies are offering automated translation software programs (also known as "automatic translation", or as "machine translation") that provide foreign language translations aimed at doing away with the need for competent human language translations, done by professional translators, the issue of this evidence’s admissibility is a rather new question of law.

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The Court Interpreter's Act states that a qualified interpreter shall be provided at "judicial proceeding instituted by the United States." The statute refers to all proceedings, whether criminal or civil, including pretrial and grand jury proceedings (as well as proceedings upon a petition for a writ of habeas corpus initiated in the name of the United States by a relator) conducted in, or pursuant to the lawful authority and jurisdiction of a United States district court. (28 U.S.C. § 1827(j)).

Continue reading "Court Interpreters and Translators in Debriefings, Proffer Sessions, and Judicial Proceedings Instituted by the United States" »

Translation of court documents into the languages of non-English-speaking defendants plays an important role in federal criminal cases, and in the process of courtroom translation at large. It is common to provide every non-English speaking defendant with a translation of the Indictment.

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As an Intellectual Property attorney you have a duty to ensure your client's property is protected from copyright and trademark infringements both in the United States and abroad. To do this, you must advise your client to seek foreign patents.

Continue reading "Patent Translations for Attorneys & Lawyers, and Protecting Your Client's Intellectual Property Both Here and Abroad" »

An issue that often arises in Trademark and Copyright claims is whether or not the use of a term on foreign language websites has probative value as to whether or not the term is generic.

In a case involving the trademark application of an allegedly generic grocery related term (“Fresh Organics”), the applicant argues against the Trademark Examining Attorney’s evidence of genericness, stating there is no probative value to be found in foreign language websites where the term appears.

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It is a longstanding rule of law in the United States that a will does not have to be written in English in order to be submitted to probate. According to Heupel et. al. v. Heupel et. al., "In the absence of a statute to the contrary, it is not necessary that a will be written in English or any particular language." 174 P.2d 850 (OK 1946).

Thus, unless a statute states to the contrary, as long as the will satisfies all other jurisdictional requirements, including being written, testified to and witnessed, a foreign language will may be submitted for probate.

Continue reading "Translation of Last Will and Testament for Wills and Probate Lawyers, and Submitting a Foreign Language Will to Probate" »

Although there is no set rule as to whether or not an employment contract, or Employee Handbook, or Employee Manual, or Employee Guide need to be translated into the employee's language- it's simply good practice to do so.

Several jurisdictions have held if an employee cannot understand the Employee Handbook, or Employee Manual, due to an inability to understand or read English, then the terms of the Employee Handbook are unenforceable.

Continue reading "Translations for Human Resources and Risk Management Departments, and Using Foreign Language Translations to Create Enforceable Employee Handbooks " »

According to the Federal Rules of Evidence, the Best Evidence Rule requires that no evidence be admitted unless it is the best that the nature of the case will allow. However, when such evidence as electronic discovery documents are presented in a foreign language, they must be translated into English before being filed with the Court. The question that arises in this situation is what is the best foreign language evidence translation: a computer-generated translation, or a translation done by a certified, human translator?

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A recent Thomson West Report states that the global economy has caused a grand shift in the approach to legal discovery. Whereas traditionally discovery involved the requesting and gathering of information within a jurisdiction, with the increasing use of electronic data storage and multilingual communications around the globe, today attorneys struggle with the need to pursue evidentiary discovery across borders.

Continue reading "Language Translation Services, Multilingual Electronic Discovery, and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure" »