Translation For Lawyers

We've blogged about court translations and legal translations in the context of cross-border contract law. According to one of the basic laws of contracts, "the formation of a contract requires... a manifestation of mutual assent to the exchange." When determining whether this requirement has been met, courts use an objective theory. However, as contracts now span international borders and incorporate various languages, the validity of the objective theory is being challenged.

Take, for example, an individual who signs a contract that is in a language they do not understand and for which no foreign language translation is provided. In such a situation, under the objective theory, a party will be bound to the contract's terms when the other party can reasonably regard the signing party's outward manifestations as an assent to the terms.

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We've blogged about legal translation of foreign language disclosures and the need for professional language services to ensure accurate translation of contracts and agreements in order to protect consumers.  A person in a trade or business who negotiates in a foreign language during the course of entering into a contract with a consumer must, in some jurisdictions, give the consumer a written foreign language translation of the proposed contract or agreement in the language of the negotiations. The foreign language translation must be an accurate translation of each and every term and condition.

Continue reading "Legal Language Services, Legal Translation of Consumer Contracts and Online Legal Translation for Attorneys and Law Firms" »

We've blogged about legal contract translation services and professional translators in the context of the international world of sports.  According to the Sherman Antitrust Act, the first US Federal statute aimed at limiting cartels and monopolies:

"Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is declared to be illegal."

"Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a felony."

Continue reading "Translation of Legal Contracts, Legal Translation of Legal Documents, the Sherman Act and Professional Sports in the Global Market" »

We've blogged about the importance of Spanish-English legal translation and English-Spanish legal translation for acquiring real estate in Mexico.  Many U.S.-based companies own commercial property abroad. Not only is this a business expense, it's also a way of bringing in revenue. As many companies will purchase foreign commercial property and then rent it out - usually to local clients - understanding the rules of landlord tenant law and the role of professional translation of lease agreements is essential.

Continue reading "Lease Agreement Translations for Commercial Real Estate Attorneys, Corporate Lawyers, and Owners of Commercial Property Abroad " »

Any sports fan knows that, regardless of the game, sports are becoming more and more international in scope. However, what most sports fans fail to realize is that in order to play professional sports in the United States, an entire legal process must first occur.  And professional translation services are an integral part of this process.

Continue reading "Legal Translation, Translation of Contracts, and the International World of Sports" »

Foreign language translation issues aside, when entering into a cross-border or international contractual agreement, one common issue that arises is deciding which language the contract should be drafted in. Although a common answer is to use the language of the country in which the contract will be filed in and include a foreign language translation in the language of all other parties involved, this is not always the case.

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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" »

Part of finalizing a foreign investment in the United States involves satisfying the procedures set up by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Financial document translation, accounting document translation, and legal document translation of foreign language documents constitutes an important step in this process. The purpose of the CFIUS is to ensure that foreign investments do not have any national security implications.

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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" »

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" »

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.

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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.

Continue reading "Legal Document Translations for Lawyers, Attorney-Client Privilege and Foreign Companies in U.S. Courts" »

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.

Continue reading "Language Translation and Contract Interpretation: Foreign Language as Trade Use Evidence" »

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.

Continue reading "Language Translation, and Validity of Real Estate Transactions Conducted in a Foreign Language" »

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.

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