Translation For Lawyers

Professional foreign language document translations and language interpreting services play an important role during discovery stage of litigation. We've discussed certified document translation services of the evidence found in social media.

There is no doubt that an attorney wishing to obtain evidence located on a private social media platform has the right to seek such evidence via the formal discovery process. In fact, numerous courts have ruled that such a practice is allowed so long as the discovery demand is made in good faith and is in line with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (and related laws and rules).

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Certified legal translators and court-certified interpreters are routinely utilized in international and domestic family law cases and in international child custody cases. A recent, unreported case out of Virginia highlights the approach many courts are taking towards child relocation when one parent lives in a foreign country. Gudino v. Gudino (Record No. 0068-11-2, November 1, 2011). In the case, the Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's decision to award custody to the father, who was residing in Japan.

Continue reading "Legal Translators and Legal Interpreters for Attorneys, and Trends in Child Relocation " »

We've blogged about multilingual certified legal translation services and authenticating foreign website evidence. Federal Rules of Evidence 901 and 902 govern the authentication of records. Accordingly, before a document can be admitted, the offering party must demonstrate that the document is authentic. The rules generally allow authentication to occur through the sworn testimony of a witness having knowledge or expert opinion on the document.

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We've blogged about multilingual legal translation and professional interpretation services in the context of a parent's right to custody in international family law cases. Japan recently announced its intention to join the Hague Abduction Convention, a central piece of international law regarding family and child rights. Currently, the process is in legislative subcommittee and is expected to be enacted into law next year.

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Taking deposition with court interpreters requires some basic understanding of the court interpreter's role in out-of-court proceedings, as well as the understanding of various court interpreting and language translation methods and skills.

Depending on the type of communication being interpreted, trained court interpreters will use different interpreting methods: consecutive interpreting, simultaneous interpreting, and sight translation. To work with professional court interpreters more effectively and to correctly infer why a court interpreter may switch between these methods in the course of single proceeding, attorneys need to have an understanding of these techniques.

Continue reading "Court Interpreters, Consecutive and Simultaneous Interpreting and Sight Translation" »

Professional legal translation and interpretation services play an essential role in developing the evidence to satisfy Alien Tort Statute requirements. We touched upon this issue in the context of translations of product safety documents.

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We've blogged about multilingual language interpreters and translators as expert witnesses in federal court cases. Expert testimony plays an equally important role in many international law cases. For example, in international family law cases, the family lawyer is often called upon to act as an expert witness. Typically, testimony will be in regards to:

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We've blogged about professional legal translation services and bilingual attorneys. The International Bar Association (IBA), in response to the growing number of global or cross-border cases, has developed an International Code of Attorney Ethics. Accordingly, a lawyer who undertakes professional work in a jurisdiction where he is not a full member of the local profession shall adhere to the standards of professional ethics in the jurisdiction in which he has been admitted. He shall also observe all ethical standards which apply to lawyers of the country where he is working. Of course this seems like it says nothing - that you have to adhere to both your home country and the foreign country's codes, but what about when they contradict? This, along with the general vagueness of the Code in general, is why it is often overlooked as a governing document.

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When dealing with attorney language in multilingual international arbitration agreements, it is essential that the practitioner be precise in specifying the name of an arbitral institution in a contract.

This is because some jurisdictions simply do not favor arbitration. For example, the Ukrainian courts will not consider arbitration unless clearly specified in the contract with a foreign language translation. In a recent case, a contract included a clause stating that "disputes shall be settled by the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Kyiv".

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We've blogged about human translation and foreign language interpreter services in the context of the Alien Tort Claims Act, product safety, translating foreign contracts for court and resolving cross-cultural disputes. Although globalization has changed the way all companies do business, manufacturing companies have been uniquely effected. Any manufacturer who exports products to foreign countries is often required to modify their product line to conform to the foreign country's laws and standards. Not only is the manufacturing of various alternatives of the same product a challenge, lack of understanding the laws of a foreign jurisdiction increases the risk of liability.

Continue reading "Legal Translation and Foreign Evidence in US Product Liability Cases: Introduction" »

We've blogged about professional document translation and language interpreting services and successful international arbitration. Acting as an attorney in an international arbitration case often involves many of the same ethical issues common to any form of legal representation. For example, issues of conflicts of interest, incompetence, dishonesty, improper communication with opposing parties and privileges are all just as present in international arbitration as they are in any other legal setting.

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We've blogged about the importance of professional foreign language translations for estate planning. At its most basic definition, a living will is a legal document that specifies exactly how one wants things run in the case he or she becomes medically incapacitated by, for example, a coma or Alzheimer's. A living will is only valid so long as the person is alive (otherwise a last will and testament will go into effect). Typically, the living will shall cover:

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Professional legal translation services play an important role in antitrust litigation. The English Courts recently issued a decision (Provimi Ltd and ors v Aventis Animal Nutrition SA and ors) that essentially opened the door to non-UK claimants bringing competition law damages claims in English jurisdiction. The Court held that a corporate entity, such as a branch or subsidiary, may be held liable for implementing a cartel contrary to the law, even if it had no knowledge of the cartel or never made sales of a cartelized product to the claimant.

Continue reading "Language Interpreters Service and Antitrust Forum-Shopping: The English Situation " »

Professional foreign language legal translation and court interpretation services play an important role in transnational litigation. In 2007 the Russian Federal Customs Service (FCS) filed a suit against the Bank of New York (BONY) in Russia seeking to recover customs duties and damages under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act's (RICO). Filing a RICO claim in a Russian Court raises many procedural and choice-of-law principles - along with issues in international litigation. In this case a foreign plaintiff was seeking a civil remedy in a foreign court but applying US federal regulatory law.

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Business contracts are complex enough when dealing with a transaction happening in a single jurisdiction. When an international business enters into a contract, the complexity of a US contract pales in comparison. Besides having to deal with the basic content of the contract, you also have to understand such issues as national sovereignty and foreign export controls - not to mention having a foreign language translation of all the documents.

Continue reading "Legal Translation, Drafting an International Contract and Choice of Law" »