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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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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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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Earlier we blogged about how legal document translations protect foreign language-speaking Californians. Similarly to California Code section 1632, California has also adopted an analogous law to protect foreign language speakers from fraudulent lending schemes occurring in the mortgage industry. According to SB 1609, the general requirements for foreign language translations of contractual agreements found in Code section 1632 also apply to reverse mortgage transactions. Thus, according to the terms of 1609, a foreign language translation of the reverse mortgage contract must be provided in the language, in which the reverse mortgage is primarily negotiated.

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Translations of foreign language wire interceptions play a pivotal role in criminal cases. Earlier we've blogged about admitting English translation/ interpretation transcript of foreign language recording... without admitting the foreign language recording, about translation of foreign language slang in the courtroom, and about qualifying a foreign language interpreter as an expert. Other interesting issues arise when translators and interpreters are asked to provide translation of wiretaps, and later testify in court on the foreign language drug slang evidence in those wire intercepts. To help your case, consider hiring professional translators, who happen to be street smart.

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