Earlier we've blogged about the role of professional translation services in the global economy. As China continues to develop as a dominant international business player, it is essential for the international lawyer to understand China's antitrust review process, and the role of English-Chinese and Chinese-English legal translations in this process.
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.
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.
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" »
Which culture would you rather be born into: individualistic, or collectivist?
Can you predict, how your foreign clients will answer this question?
Did you know that English is the only major language in which the pronoun "I" is capitalized? No wonder our mainstream individualistic culture values the "I" mentality, and puts the emphasis on the individual over the group. It is acceptable and appropriate in our culture to blow one's own horn. We even say, "The squeaky wheel gets the grease".
Old habits die hard. And so do one’s cultural values. People can easily move from one country to another, from one continent to another, but they rarely travel light. They always carry their cultural baggage with them.
How well do you know your law firm's foreign clients?
Is your foreign client influenced by the "I", or by the "we" mentality? Can you guess, what moral choices your non-English-speaking clients would make? Can you predict, for instance, how your foreign client perceives he can get wealthy?
Continue reading "For Russians, Influential Connections, Not Hard Work, Key to Wealth" »
The search engine's Chinese name 'Gu Ge ' is a transliteration of the English word "Google", and means "harvesting song". It was used last April to attract more Chinese web users to this search engine.
Continue reading "Google's Chinese Name Allegedly Similar to a Chinese Company's Name" »
July 9, 2008 English-Chinese and Chinese-English Legal Document Translations, and China's Antitrust Review Process Earlier we've blogged about the role of professional translation services in the global economy. As...
February 9, 2008 Don't Let Your Foreign Clients Skimp on Professional Translation Services, Or Why It's Important to Translate "Comp-Store Sales" into Chinese Clear communication across foreign language barriers is critical for success of any international venture, and...
January 17, 2008 Deposition Interpretation & Translation Services in a Foreign Deposition in U.S. Federal Cases During a U.S. federal case, an attorney will often be required to take a deposition...
September 12, 2007 How Language Factors Affect Asian-Americans in Probate Court The U.S. Constitution guarantees equal access to the judicial system. However, according to a recent...
August 4, 2007 Distinguish Between Individualistic and Collectivist Cultures when Dealing with Foreign Nationals Which culture would you rather be born into: individualistic, or collectivist? Can you predict, how...
August 2, 2007 For Russians, Influential Connections, Not Hard Work, Key to Wealth Old habits die hard. And so do one’s cultural values. People can easily move from...
