May 14, 2008

Document Translation, Attorney-Client Privilege and Foreign Companies in U.S. Courts

Earlier we blogged about the role of foreign language translation in transnational litigation. When a foreign company is involved in U.S. litigation, regardless of whether it is against a U.S. company or not, there are several important factors to keep in mind. As an attorney representing the foreign company, of particular interest is the extent of attorney-client privilege. As both the U.S. and foreign country’s Code of Civil Procedure may apply – knowing when communications are privileged and to whom this privilege extends to is essential.

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April 16, 2008

Language Translation and Contract Interpretation: Foreign Language as Trade Use Evidence

Depending on the quality of the original, source text, foreign language translations may sometimes be perceived as ambiguous. According to the Law of Contracts, one method for interpreting the terms of an ambiguously written contract is to look at any terms of trade used within the document. This refers to any terminology that has a special meaning within a given trade that is the subject of the contract. However, this can become an even more complicated task when the terms of trade are in a foreign language.

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April 9, 2008

Language Translation and Validity of Real Estate Transactions Conducted in a Foreign Language

We’ve already blogged about foreign language translations in the context of reverse mortgage loans. But when it comes to foreign language translation in the context of real estate transactions, it helps to remember that there are two basic steps in conducting a valid real estate transaction – creating a valid deed and properly filing the deed. More so, each step may be affected when a foreign language real estate deed is involved.

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March 28, 2008

Language Translation and Ethical Issues of Filing Privileged Foreign Language Documents: The Receiving Attorney’s Side

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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March 25, 2008

Legal Document Translations, and Ethical Issues of Filing Privileged Foreign Language Documents: The Filing Attorney’s Side

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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March 22, 2008

Foreign Language Translation, and Litigating Foreign Language Life Insurance Policies

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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March 17, 2008

Legal Document Translation, and Waiving Liability in a Foreign Language

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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March 10, 2008

Professional Language Translation Services and Consumer Protection

Language barriers often create confusion in the minds of non-English-speaking consumers. Professional translation services ensure effective communication across language and cultural barriers. Take document translation in the context of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, for instance. It was enacted, in part, to provide protection to consumers in such areas as electronic fund transfers (See Part 205).

According to FDIC regulations, various corporations are required to disclose specified information to consumers. For example, the purpose of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act is to protect individual consumers engaging in electronic fund transfers (Sec. 205.1). When it comes to required disclosures, the FDIC requires all disclosures to be “clear and readily understandable, in writing, and in a form the consumer may keep”. This requirement seems straightforward until the issue of foreign language becomes involved.

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February 20, 2008

Professional Translation Services & Gestational Surrogacy Contract

Professional translation services, which embrace legal document translation and courtroom translation, come in handy when dealing with many potential points of litigation. Take, for instance, a gestational surrogacy agreement. Issues can arise in a surrogacy arrangement when the parties do not speak the same language.

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February 18, 2008

Legal Document Translations Protect Foreign Language Speaking Californians

Legal document translations protect non-English-speaking consumers from entering into business transactions they don’t understand. The Consumer Protection for New Californians Bill of 2004, for example, was designed to protect foreign language speakers from being tricked into signing contracts and other legally binding agreements that they cannot understand, or that are not accompanied by a foreign language translation. Specifically, the bill required certain businesses to provide translation of contracts into the four major Asian languages: Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.


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February 17, 2008

Expert Foreign Language Document Translations Hinder Adoption Fraud

Foreign language document translation plays an important role in international adoptions. According to many adoption laws, such as the law in the State of Virginia, a parent cannot bring a collateral action asserting extrinsic fraud in order to set aside an adoption after six months from the date the adoption has passed. However, at least one Court of Appeals has held this type of statute to be unconstitutional when applied to a foreign language speaker. And the lack of foreign language document translation was the deciding factor in that case.

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January 31, 2008

Foreign Language Certified Document Translations Essential for Class Certification under Rule 23(c)(2)

Foreign language translations play an important role in cross-border securities and debt litigation. When foreign investors are involved in a class action against a U.S. company, Rule 23(b)(3) comes into play.

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January 30, 2008

Cross-Border Litigation Increases the Need for Professional Foreign Language Legal Translation Services

As securities-fraud lawsuits go global, the need for professional foreign language live, print, and written translation services is on the rise. Late last year the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey entered a ruling that essentially excludes all non-U.S. purchasers of Shell securities from becoming a party in a class action lawsuit for security fraud filed in the United States.

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