Translation For Lawyers

Legal translation and legal interpreting services come in handy in all international tax matters. Last spring the Treasury Department and IRS published a notice regarding the classification of Subpart F Income Partnership income. According to the notice, certain domestic partnerships will soon be classified as foreign partnerships for purposes of identifying which of the partners are US shareholders within a controlled foreign corporation (CFC). The reason for this is that CFC's are required to include gross income in their filings.

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Earlier we've blogged about corporate translation services in the context of international arbitration. Although the purpose of arbitration is to allow for the amicable resolution of business disagreements, sometimes a party will be left unsatisfied with the choice of arbitrator. Both the arbitration done under the Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) or via internal (ad hoc) rules allow for a challenge. When raising a challenge, specific requirements must be met:

Continue reading "Language Translation & Interpreting for Corporate Litigation Attorneys, and Challenging Arbitrators under an International Arbitration Act" »

A very common occurrence in a hospital setting, particularly an emergency room, is the arrival of a non-English speaking patient. In such a situation the physician often struggles with trying to understand the symptoms and make a correct diagnosis. This becomes an issue when the patient can only communicate in a foreign language and no qualified foreign language interpreter is available. In the worst-case scenario, it becomes a medical malpractice problem.

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Foreign language barriers, which are easily overcome with the help of competent medical interpreters, can cause various problems when they are ignored in a medical setting. According to medical malpractice theory, a physician may be held liable if his inability to adequately communicate with a patient prevents him from obtaining proper informed consent. This line of legal liability stretches from the Quintero v. Encarnacion case. In this case, the patient was only able to communicate using a few Spanish words.

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When it comes to depositions or Examinations Before Trial (EBTs) involving non-English-speaking witnesses, the last thing an attorney wants is surprises - especially from their client. This is why preparing your client and all other individuals involved in the deposition is essential. Nowhere is this truer than when dealing with a foreign language speaking witness, who requires services of a deposition interpreter, in the context of a cross-cultural deposition.

When preparing for a foreign language deposition, keep these tips in mind:

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Although sometimes admissible, the use of telephonic expert witness testimony given by a foreign language translator or court interpreter is highly disfavored by the courts. In general, the courts are likely to apply the same standards of admissibility of telephonic testimony by a foreign language translator/ interpreter as they would to any type of telephonic testimony.

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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.

Continue reading "Foreign Language Translators & Interpreters, and Competent Representation of Non-English-Speaking Clients" »

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.

Continue reading "Translators & Interpreters for Attorneys & Litigation, & Standard of Review for Appealing Foreign Language Translation Errors" »

Bilingual attorneys are often tempted to provide foreign language translation and even courtroom translation and interpreting services for their non-English-speaking clients. But is it prudent? The following facts apply to this case example:

Continue reading "Medical Foreign Language Translation, Medical Interpreting and Legal Malpractice: A Case Example" »

Clear communication across foreign language barriers is critical for success of any international
venture, and is as important, as the accurate courtroom translation. It becomes even more important during conference calls between the English-speaking investors and the Chinese-speaking managers of the company they invest in. Always advise your international clients- public and private companies- to invest in professional translation and interpreting services- to safeguard their company's reputation and brand, to promote goodwill among culturally diverse investors, and to protect their company's bottom line.

Continue reading "Don't Let Your Foreign Clients Skimp on Professional Translation Services, Or Why It's Important to Translate "Comp-Store Sales" into Chinese" »

When dealing with a foreign party during transnational litigation, the discovery and deposition process is often more tedious than it is when dealt with domestically. When conducting multilingual foreign language discovery and cross-cultural depositions requiring professional foreign language translation and interpreting services, keep these tips in mind:

Continue reading "Foreign Language Certified Translation, Foreign Language Depositions, and Multilingual Discovery Tips" »

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.

Continue reading "Witness Interview Translators, Deposition Interpretation & Translation Services in a Foreign Deposition in U.S. Federal Cases" »

Remote foreign language interpretation services, i.e. services provided by a foreign language interpreter who is not on-site, and, therefore, not in the presence of the speaker, have been around for a long time. Such live, real-time foreign language interpreting services are occasionally referred to as "telephone interpreting", "telephonic interpreting", and even "video interpreting". "Remote courtroom interpretation services, on the other hand, are still novel for many jurisdictions.

Nina has recently been quoted in the ABA Journal's article "Translation Station", which talks about a special telephone technology that allows foreign language interpreters to work remotely and interpret court proceedings in real time.

Continue reading "Author of "Translation for Lawyers" Legal Translation Blog Quoted in ABA Journal's Article on Remote Foreign Language Interpreting Services" »

When negotiating a contract for a client involved in the entertainment sector, including authors, actors and directors, one issue that needs to be resolved is foreign language translations and adaptations of your client’s work. As many movies and books are translated and released for foreign sales, specific contract clauses must address your client’s financial interests in these foreign language adaptations.

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According to Federal Regulations, informed consent must be received from all patients and subjects prior to performing medical treatment or testing. All information pertaining to informed consent must be presented in writing and in a language understandable to the individual. If the individual is a non-English speaker, all informed consent documentation must also contain a foreign language translation

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