Translation For Lawyers

We've blogged about legal translation services and the scope of the U.S. employment discrimination laws in international settings. When it comes to the use of a foreign language in the workplace, there is often a conflict between the employee's desire to communicate in their native language and the employer's desire to operate in a single language environment. When such clashes cannot get resolves, one turns to the EEOC. The EEOC's approach is to essentially strike a compromise between an employer's interests in efficient business operations while still granting cultural rights to employees in limited circumstances. So where's the line?

Continue reading "Legal Translating Services and Foreign Languages in the Workplace: The EEOC Guidelines" »

We've blogged about important role that certified notarized and apostilled translations play in transnational divorce proceedings. Even after a divorce is finalized, parties often find themselves dealing with 'buyer's remorse'. And just like when buying a house or a car, a divorce decision is difficult to set aside. As Kojovic v. Goldman shows, even in extreme cases in which the value of a marital asset turns out to have been greatly undervalued - to the tune of millions of dollars - even then it is difficult to have a decision overturned.

In this particular case, the parties settled their divorce after they had exchanged the customary financial information, with the husband disclosing his minority interest in an information technology company. In the settlement the wife received nearly $1.5 million. However, about one month later the IT company was bought for $225 million. Needless to say the wife sued to set aside the settlement on the basis of fraud and unconscionability.

Continue reading "Certified Translation Services and Concealment of Value of Marital Assets" »

Malay, Mandarin Chinese, Tamil and English document translations are required when doing business with companies in Singapore, as these are the country's official languages. In early April Singapore issued its new International Arbitration Act 2012, which amends the 2010 edition. The amended version contains four key changes:

Continue reading "Legal Language Translation Services and New International Arbitration Rules in Singapore" »

We've blogged about legal document translation and legal interpretation in the context of child relocation issues. In custody decisions, jurisdiction depends on identifying the child's home state - but what if there isn't one? This is often the issue in international custody disputes where there is always a need for multilingual legal translation services. To illustrate, we'll look at the court's analysis in the case of Grace G v. Beeno G, where the child was living overseas with a grandparent. In this case, the child's parents moved from Trinidad to the US (mother to New York, father to Florida), leaving the daughter in Trinidad with the father's mother. Years later (after a divorce with no mention of the daughter was filed), the mother seized the daughter in Florida and moved her to New York. The father filed for custody in Florida. The question - who has jurisdiction?

Continue reading "Legal Translation Services and Determining Jurisdiction when there is no 'Home'" »

We've blogged about professional legal document translation services and global legal issues related to cloud computing. In late 2011the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling that brings a much needed level of clarity to defining and protecting the e-discovery rights of non-US nationals utilizing US online services. According to Suzlon Energy Ltd. V. Microsoft Corporation, emails stored on services located within the US, regardless of the user's location or nationality, are protected by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), which ensures that the disclosure of emails by electronic communication service providers is limited and restricted to specific circumstances.

Continue reading " Specialized Document Translation Services and Protecting the Cloud" »

Multilingual ediscovery translation services and corporate translation services are relevant for multinational companies that have operations in the US and are subject to both the US civil procedure discovery rules and the privacy laws of the European Union or other 'home base' countries. Such transnational companies are no stranger to the complications of e-discovery rules, since trying to comply with both rules can became an issue when a conflict of laws arises.

Continue reading "Certified Translation Services and Move Towards an International E-Discovery Agreement" »

The presence of a foreign language interpreter does not in general terminate attorney-client privilege. However, there are instances where the interpreter's presence could constitute waiver of this privilege. The most notable of these privilege pitfalls is when a foreign language interpreter accidentally or intentionally reveals privileged information to a third party. When then happens, it is considered a waiver of attorney-client privilege, which is forever waived with respect to any third party who later requests it during discovery.

Continue reading "Multi Language Translators and Court Interpreters, and Pitfalls in Privilege" »

Compensation for court document translations, as mentioned in a previous legal translation blog post, and the Supreme Court's decision in Taniguchi v. Kan Pacific Saipan, LTD will have far reaching effects. Let's take a closer look at what's at stake.

Continue reading "Legal Language Interpreters and Legal Document Translators - Another Look at Taniguchi v. Kan Pacific Saipan, LTD" »