What You Need to be a Legal Translator

Damaging Translation Mistakes

• Translation mistakes can be damaging to a law firm or their clients.

• These mistakes are the worst-case scenario:

– Missing a final deadline.

– Inconsistency in terminology.

– Mistranslations of phrases or words.

Avoid Translation Errors

• Obviously everyone wants to avoid making those kinds of errors in the first place.

• Hiring a legal translation team that has the necessary expertise will help avoid that.

Key Legal Translator Attributes

Legal translators that have these attributes are more successful:

• Legal Knowledge

• Legal Jargon

• Fluency

• Organization

• Technologically Conversant

Legal Knowledge

• Legal systems can be difficult to understand.

• Understanding legal concepts is necessary to translate properly.

• Different branches of law function differently.

Legal Jargon

• Every legal system has its own legal terminology.

• Latin terms in American legal system have different meanings than the original Latin ones.

• Keep up with new legal terms.

Fluency

• Need an intimate knowledge of both translation languages.

• Meaning needs to be as close to the original as possible.

• Native speakers of the language that is being translated into are most successful.

Organization

• Organized approach will ensure the project is delegated properly.

• Editing and quality control will rely on some organization.

Technologically Conversant

• Terminology management and project tracking can help with translation.

• Knowledge of technology in general can help with certified legal document translations involving technology (like patents or IP).

Finding a Qualified Legal

Translation Team

• Certified document translation can be performed by a full-time translator or a translation company.

• You can hire a certified translation service company that will meet your legal translation needs.