Translation For Lawyers

Cross-cultural and international disputes in the US courts often involve testimony by foreign witnesses who need a foreign language interpreter for the translation of questions and answers from English into a foreign language and from a foreign language into English. Although every jurisdiction has its own rules, here's a review of some basic principles to keep in mind when working with court interpreters, legal translators and deposition interpreters in Denver, Colorado, and elsewhere:

• Rules of procedure applicable in both civil and criminal actions provide that the court may appoint an interpreter of its own selection. Interpreters have generally been required where a witness does not speak English well enough to testify fully and where the criminal defendant does not speak English well enough to communicate with counsel and understand the proceedings. However, in a civil case, courts give paramount importance to the need for the jury to be able to effectively hear and understand the testimony and the need for the court reporter to make a complete and accurate record.

Continue reading "Multi Language Interpretation in Court, Legal Translator Guidelines and Court-Certified Interpreters" »

We've blogged about the role of legal translation and court interpreters in determining a foreign national's testamentary capacity and about professional translation services and the duty of care toward non-English-speakers.  Language translation and understanding of a foreign client's culture play a significant role in determining the client's competency to make important legal determinations.

The foreign client's cultural beliefs, values and background all influence how he approaches and understands legal concepts. Since certain traits may signal incapacity in one culture - yet be altogether typical and normal in another culture - a monolingual and monocultural attorney can easily misjudge cultural differences and signs of diminished competency.

Continue reading " Court Translators, Diminished Capacity and Culturally Diverse Clients " »

In "Acquiring Foreign-Born Clients: Marketing Legal Services to a Growing Niche" we talked about the importance of professional legal translation and interpreting services in helping a law firm become a foreign-language-friendly firm and, thus, attract more foreign clients and foreign-born clients.  Once your law firm has been positioned as the law firm dedicated
to serving foreign nationals, an ethical dilemma, pertaining to foreign language translations, may arise.

Continue reading "Foreign Language Translation/ Interpretation, Legal Translation, International Translators and Attorney Ethics " »

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.

Continue reading "English-Chinese and Chinese-English Legal Document Translations, and China's Antitrust Review Process" »

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" »

As more and more people move abroad, many couples will face divorce in a foreign court. Such situations will require professional translation services. But dealing with professional language translators and court interpreters will not be as challenging as having the foreign granted divorce recognized by a U.S. court - if the marriage occurred in the United States. Typically this becomes relevant when one or both of the parties moves to the U.S. and issues regarding support or custody arise.

Continue reading "Professional Translation Services for Matrimonial and Divorce Attorneys, and Having a Foreign Granted Divorce Recognized in a U.S. Court" »

Earlier we blogged about language translation in the context of products liability claims in the presence of the English only warnings. Foreign language translation becomes even more relevant in product liability cases when the issue of foreign regulatory evidence arises in pharmaceutical lawsuits, mainly due to the international scope of pharmaceutical sales.

Continue reading "Translations for Lawyers & Litigators, and Foreign Regulatory Evidence in Products Liability Cases" »

With the growing economic and political strength of the European Union, more and more transatlantic business is being conducted. This leads to an increase of transatlantic business contracts. Such contracts need to be translated into the language or languages of the European country, with which the U.S. company is conducting business. And, the more international business transactions there are, the more blurred the law that governs the enforcement of contracts becomes.

Continue reading "Legal Document Translation, and Enforcing U.S. Judgments in Europe" »

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 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.

Continue reading "Medical Translations, Professional Foreign Language Interpreting Services Prevent Medical Malpractice" »

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.

Continue reading "Medical Interpretation, Medical Interpreter Services, Foreign Language Barriers and Informed Consent" »

When a party relies on a piece of documentary evidence written in a foreign language, they must have the document translated into English and file an affidavit attesting to the accuracy of the translation.

So what happens when both parties submit separate affidavits by two different document translators attesting to having submitted an accurate translation?

Continue reading "Certified Language Translator's Affidavit, and Professional Translation & Interpreting Services for Litigation, Court Proceedings & Arbitration Proceedings" »

As the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is aimed primarily at international transactions, the issue of accurate foreign language translation becomes essential to avoiding legal trouble. According to the FCPA, it is a crime to, among other things, to bribe a foreign official.

Continue reading "Foreign Language Translation in Context of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act" »

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:

Continue reading "Deposition Translators, Deposition Interpreters, and Preparing for a Foreign Language Deposition" »

When talking about foreign language translation and interpretation and foreign languages in the legal sense, it is natural to think in terms of the act of translating a legal document or testimony from one language to another. However, when used in the context of international law, this concept also means translating and interpreting foreign laws from one legal language to another.

Continue reading "Legal Document Translation, Translated Laws and Documents- the Other Side of Language Translation Process" »