Translation For Lawyers

We've blogged about court translation, courtroom interpreting experts, certified translation professionals and document interpreting professionals in the context of pleading a case for libel, and in the context of legal protection of posthumous personality rights.  Under the US Constitution, people enjoy significant rights to free speech. Although hate speech is not protected per se, it does enjoy significant constitutional protection. Thus, a neo-Nazi group is allowed to hold a march through a predominantly Jewish neighborhood and the website Yahoo! or eBay can facilitate auctions of Nazi artifacts.

Continue reading "Legal Translation Experts and Legal Translators, Free Speech, Foreign Judgments and Specific Jurisdiction" »

We've blogged about the role of professional court translators and document interpreters in national origin discrimination cases and in employment discrimination cases.  Under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, discriminating against an individual on the grounds of their foreign accent may be prohibited. However, many cases brought under this action are unsuccessful due to the high burden of proof placed on the plaintiff. One example is the Customer Preference defense, which argues that employment decisions may be justified when done in order to appeal to a target demographic group - namely, the customer.

Continue reading "Translation / Interpretation Experts for Litigation, Court Interpreters, and Foreign Accents in the Courtrooms" »

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" »

Professional translation services play an important role in arbitration. Nearly every industrialized nation has an International Arbitration Act on their books. Although every nation's Act is unique, all are similar in purpose - to facilitate the mediation and arbitration of international commercial disputes. Further, all states who have International Arbitration Acts agree to specific formalities as part of the International Arbitration Convention.

Continue reading "Corporate Translation, Legal Translation Services for Corporate Litigation Lawyers, and International Arbitration" »

Foreign language document translation and language interpreting play an important role in the investigation and defense of money laundering cases. Money laundering occurs when an individual or organization attempts to disguise the origin of proceeds which stem from a preceding criminal act. In other words, it is the act of transferring the proceeds made from a criminal act in order to conceal their criminal origin. In the setting of international commercial arbitration, the following elements of the offense of money laundering need to be established:

Continue reading "Legal Translation, and Asserting a Money Laundering Defense in the International Arbitration Setting" »

A recent article in The Washington Post explores a new flare-up of old tensions between French- and Dutch-speaking populations of Belgium. Many of these tensions spring up from the linguistic, cultural, and political obstacles (such as Flemish demands for greater autonomy), and cannot be easily overcome even with the help of professional legal French language translation and French language interpretation services, or with the help of professional legal Dutch language translation and Dutch language interpretation services.

Continue reading "Language & Cultural Barriers between French Speakers and Dutch Speakers Threaten to Break Up Belgium" »

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" »

As linguistic and cultural diversity in the United States continues to grow, American courts will increasingly deal with cross-cultural disputes, as well as with the intersection between foreign and domestic law, and, often, with the intersection between cultural or religious customs and domestic law.

Continue reading "Ohio Appellate Court To Rule on the Interpretation of Islamic Marriage Contract- Mahr" »

Two important rules applicable to interpreting a prenuptial agreement with a foreign national are the Parol Evidence Rule and the Statute of Frauds. The Parol Evidence Rule holds that prior or contemporaneous negotiations and agreements that contradict, modify or vary the terms of the contract are inadmissible when the contract is intended to be a complete and final expression of the parties.

Continue reading "Legal Document Translation, the Parol Evidence Rule and the Statute of Frauds: What You Need to Know About Cross-Border Prenuptial Agreements" »

The European Union currently has 23 official languages. In order for each version of the EU documents translated into those 23 languages to be binding, there’s an ongoing need for precise Bulgarian translation and Czech translation; Danish translation and Dutch translations; English translations and Estonian translation; Finnish translations and French translation; German translations and Greek translation; Hungarian translations and Irish translation; Italian translation and Latvian translation; Lithuanian translation and Maltese translation; Polish translation and Portuguese translation; Romanian translation and Slovak translation; Slovenian translation; Spanish translation and Swedish translation.

Continue reading "Bulgarian Translation of "Euro" as Bulgarian National and Cultural Identity Issue" »

The key to successfully mediating any cross-cultural dispute is to understand both the similarities and differences that exist between the represented cultures. To do this, one has to understand the ethnic and national makeup of the specific cultural group, their cultural prerogatives, and body language.

Continue reading "Professional Translation/ Interpreting Services, and Successful Mediation and Negotiation in the Latino Community" »

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.

Continue reading "Legal Translators & Interpreters for Attorneys Help With Gaining an Edge in Cross-Cultural Mediation" »

As our society becomes increasingly multicultural, the potential for cross-cultural disputes becomes more likely. Unlike same-culture disputes, cross-cultural disputes are difficult to mediate due to the unique challenge of having to understand the needs of someone from a different culture.

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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.

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The law holds a party bound to a contract's terms, regardless of comprehension or understanding, absent coercion, duress, fraud, inducement or some other independent ground that justifies recession.

Not being fluent in the language, in which the contract is written, or being unable to understand the language of the contract is not an independent defense to the contract's enforcement. See Merril, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. v. Benton. 467 So.2d 311, 10 Fla. L. Weekly 225 (Fla. App. 5 Dist., 1985); Kahan Novoa v. Safra Nat. Bank of New York, 313 F.Supp.2d 1347 (S.D. Fla. 2003).

Continue reading "Multilingual Contract Translations, Cultural Savvy and Effective Client Relations" »