Why Do Legal Companies Need Legal Translation Services?
In 2018, about 2600 legal cases were abandoned or adjourned by UK courts due to a shortage of interpreters and translators. This speaks volumes about the vital importance of legal document translation services ─ not only for the legal profession, but for people from all walks of life.
Why Are Legal Translation Services Vital?
Why are experts saying that legal translation services are impacting “people from all walks of life”? The answer is that legal document translation services are by no means about what is happening in law courts only. But why is this?
Let’s look closely together at just one example. In most cases, refugees in any country normally speak languages other than the language of their host country. Yet, they still have to handle dozens of legal documents in order to, for example, change immigration status or deal with any legal actions against them ─ and therefore, they are in need of legal representation. Don’t they require legal document translation services?
Why Should Legal Document Translation Services Be Error-free?
Though vitally important and central to the lives of everybody, legal translation is one of the most problematic and challenging translation domains. The reason is that law is culture-dependent by nature, and therefore legal translation requires excellent knowledge of the source and target cultures alike.
What’s more, the legal translation domain is one with zero margin for error, as the mistranslation of a phrase or a passage in a contract or a treaty could have catastrophic consequences. In many countries, people have, regrettably, found themselves facing a prison sentence just because they did not understand what was going on after being arrested and had no legal interpreter to help them defend themselves.
Types of Documents That Need Legal Translation Services
Whether you are a lawyer, a law firm, an immigrant, or anyone in need of the translation of a legal document, it’s important for you to make a distinction between legal documents and other types of documents. The following are some of the main types of legal documents:
Immigration Documents
For potential immigrants who, for example, are not fluent in English and wish to immigrate to America or Australia, the accurate translation of immigration paperwork will ensure that they are kept in the loop throughout the immigration process.
Legal Contracts
If your client wants to sign a contract with a person or organisation from a foreign country, it’s necessary for you to translate this vital legal document, otherwise your customer might run the risk of, for instance, receiving financial penalties.
Corporate Documents
Likewise, it’s crucial to translate corporate documents if either your client or yourself work in an overseas country ─ which at the end of the day helps you to save time and prevent a lot of problems.
Financial Records
There is no margin for error when it comes to financial document translations, as mistranslations in this specific area could result in prison time!
Miscellaneous Legal Documents
Ranging from patents to trademark applications, copyright registrations, affidavits, trusts, wills, tenders and witness statements, these important documents require professional legal translation services.
How to Select the Best Translation Service Provider
Since legal translations constitute a highly specialised area of the translation industry and need to be handled with the utmost care, it is vital when sourcing legal translation services that the law firm or other business requiring this type of service should be looking for a number of aspects in a translation partner. They include, but are not limited to:
Certification
In an unregulated industry like translation, where many people and agencies can claim that their translations are great (what does “great” mean?!), it’s essential for a provider of legal document translation services to be certified by a higher authority, such as, for example, the Association of Translation Companies (ATC).
Technical Expertise
A reputable law firm or other business must, at the end of the day, select a translation services provider that has a team comprising not only translators specialised in the legal field, but also subject matter experts.
Advanced Technology
To decrease turnaround times and reduce costs while ensuring accuracy and consistency, a suitable translation supplier should be using the latest technology solutions in addition to having the capability to integrate automation and linguists into their translation services.
Confidentiality
There’s no doubt that one of the main features of a reliable translation service provider is their ability to handle your legal documents with the utmost care and confidentiality.
Why TW Languages?
If your business, whether in the legal industry or not, is in need of sourcing the right legal document translation services, the testimonials of hundreds of our previous clients will unquestionably lead you to TW Languages.
At TW Languages, we far outshine other suppliers across the legal translation services industry thanks to many advantages that include:
- ISO 17100 certified and a member of ATC (Association of Translation Companies).
- Top-notch clients: We’ve provided excellent legal document translation services to over 200 leading global businesses that range from SMEs to large corporations and include Cassons and Butcher & Barlow.
- Rigorous Process: Our process follows a proven methodology, which has so far resulted in delivering translations that exceed the expectations of our clients.
- Expert Team: Our team is made up of professional, native translators, with legal-industry-specific expertise, who consistently deliver an error-free legal document translation service. They pride themselves on having translated about 40 million words in this field
If you would like to take advantage of the outstanding legal translation service from TW Languages, please get in touch.
