Translation For Lawyers

Sometimes during multilingual discovery an attorney will inadvertently file a privileged document. This can happen with foreign language documents, especially when the English translation is not available. When this occurs, the receiving attorney has various ethical obligations as to how to handle the filing. However, every state has very different approaches to what these ethical obligations are.

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In the absence of English translation of foreign language documents filing mistakes can happen. During multilingual e-Discovery it is conceivable that privileged foreign language documents can be made available to the receiving party. Regardless of whether it is done inadvertently or on purpose, when privileged documents are disclosed during discovery, ethical issues not only rise for the receiving party but also for the disclosing party.

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Even if a life insurance policy is written in a foreign language, it is enforceable unless a specific ground of unenforceability is found. When litigating the enforceability of a life insurance policy, the issues are essentially controlled by the law of contracts. However, when either the policy, or a clause in the policy, is written in a foreign language the additional step of obtaining a foreign language translation is required. With a foreign language translation attached, the life insurance policy can be submitted as evidence.

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In the legal translation firm's White Paper "A Lawyer's Guide to Cross-Cultural Depositions" we talked about the importance of establishing a rapport between a deposing attorney and a non-English-speaking deponent to help overcome the deponent's mistrust and defensiveness. However, building respect when deposing a foreign-born witness is not even a consideration during hostile depositions where the witness speaks in a foreign language. In fact, some deposing attorneys have been known to act rudely towards a foreign language speaker during a deposition involving a foreign language deposition interpreter. But whether or not an attorney's rude behavior towards a foreign language speaker during a deposition is considered unethical behavior is a question the courts continue to struggle with.

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Foreign language translations play an important role in insurance law, as well as in domestic and in cross-border litigation. It’s not uncommon for an insured party to receive a reservation of rights letter from one’s insurer. Similarly, a limitation of liability coverage is a standard clause in insurance agreements and other business contracts. However, just because they are there and the client signed on the dotted line does not mean they are enforceable. That is especially true when the insured speaks a foreign language, and is not fluent in English.

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