Earlier we’ve blogged about the ethical challenges for bilingual attorneys who attempt to provide translation and interpretation services to their foreign-born clients. Numerous ethical questions may arise in the opposite situation as well, when an English-speaking attorney, who doesn't speak the client's language, represents a non-English-speaking client.
Bringing an appeal on the grounds of an erroneous foreign language live courtroom translation, or foreign language interpreting in court, is a difficult standard to satisfy. First, just as with any argument for appeal, the appealing party must show that the error was in fact controlling as to the final decision, and not merely a trivial error.
During a U.S. federal case, an attorney will often be required to take a deposition in a foreign country. Such foreign depositions, or cross-cultural depositions, if you will, often involve non-English-speaking witnesses and require services of professional foreign language court interpreters, fluent in the deponents' languages.
As more and more minorities are becoming attorneys, some bilingual attorneys may choose to also act as a foreign language interpreter for their foreign-born client. The thinking is that since their language skills are sufficient, they can save the court time and their client money by doubling up as a court interpreter. However, acting as both the attorney and the interpreter for your client raises numerous ethical questions.
Continue reading "A Bilingual Attorney Serving as the Interpreter- Ethical Considerations" »
Bankruptcy proceedings are difficult for any individual and any business. They can be even more burdensome for non-English-speaking debtors due to the language and cultural barriers. The Department of Justice helps the non-English speakers by providing Vietnamese translation, Hmong translation, Tagalog translation, Korean translation, Chinese translation, French translation, Arabic translation, and Spanish translation of Bankruptcy Information Sheet on its Web site.
A foreign language interpreter must be established as an expert before acting as an interpreter in a court proceeding. In general, the Rules of Evidence define an expert as anyone with “specialized knowledge (that) will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue”.
Continue reading "Qualifying a Foreign Language Interpreter as an Expert" »
Contrary to popular belief, foreign language interpreters are needed even when the plaintiff, defendant or witness has enough proficiency in a second language (English) to engage in basic conversations. In the courtroom and in cross-cultural depositions, basic language proficiency is just not enough.
A rather recent trend in transnational business dispute resolution is the use of mediation as a method for reaching amicable solutions. However, a successful business mediation that involves representatives of different cultures, who speak different languages, creates unique challenges for all the parties involved. All too often language barriers, cultural differences and the parties’ lack of understanding of each other’s respective cultures, lead to a breakdown in the negotiation process.
The U.S. Constitution guarantees equal access to the judicial system. However, according to a recent study conducted by the Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts, some of the leading causes of impeding Asian-Americans’ equal access are the language barriers and cultural differences that exists between East and West cultures.1
This is particularly true when your Asian-American client is going through probate.
Continue reading "How Language Factors Affect Asian-Americans in Probate Court" »
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" »