Legal Translations - Independent Linguists or Translation

Agencies?

Legal translations are the core

of multilingual communication

because they allow citizens,

businesses, legal and

governmental institutions to

communicate despite language

and cultural differences, within

and outside the borders of the

states.

We are all aware of the

increasing importance of

qualitative translations, especially in the legal sector. The incorrect translation

of a legal document can lead to misunderstandings and frustrations; not to

mention the following delays and higher costs.

Legal expertise

Legal translation is a specialised area of translation that requires thorough

knowledge of the legal systems of the source language and the target

language(s) as well. The phrasing used within the framework of this type of

documents are very accurate and must under no circumstances be ambiguous.

More to that, a professional linguist in charge of a legal translation needs solid

legal drafting skills.

Considering all these requirements, a professional translation agency might be

a better option than an independent linguist, as such agency usually has access

to a complete database of skilled translators. A marriage certificate is different

from a criminal case and from a corporate negotiation, therefore different

skills are required for an accurate translation of each of these documents.

Finding an independent translator that would be a perfect match for all these

types of legal documents is a time consuming and difficult activity. Relying on

the services of a translation agency instead can prove to be more efficient, as it

can more easily match the needs of a client with the legal expertise and

experience of more translators and provide the final documents as accurate as

possible.

Security of information

In case of a highly important document, a translation agency can arrange that a

whole team of translators to be assigned to provide the translation, so none of

them becomes in the know of the entire document. This is a basic measure

that translation companies use in order to provide standards of security. Not

only that, but when a team of translators work on the same document, it will

be finished more rapidly. Can one independent translator do all this? It is

doubtful.

On the other hand, one translator may be preferred by a client if the needed

documents to be translated keep the same register. Having one linguist

translating them all assures consistency between documents. But agencies can

also assign the same translator for the same client if required and in cases

where that linguist becomes unavailable, they can find another one with the

same skills in no time.

Quality of legal translations comes first

No matter the source of the translation, the quality of the final document is

the most important thing one should consider when in need of a legal

translation. Both independent linguists and translation companies can provide

qualitative translated legal documents. However, trusting an agency for this

kind of job is more effective, as they usually have serious recruitment criteria

and, more importantly, they can find a linguist with a specific set of skills more

easily. Therefore, the client benefits from a higher quality service.

To learn about our legal translation services, click here.