Why choose a specialist legal translation service?

When it comes to choosing a translation service to translate your legal documents, there are many options out there. We understand that it can be difficult to choose a provider, particularly when it can be hard to know what makes a good translation service provider. However, we would always recommend choosing a specialist legal translations provider rather than a one-size-fits-all translation service. In this article, we look at some of the reasons as to why only a specialist legal translations service provider can ensure the highest quality legal translations. 

Why is legal translation different?

Translation is a specialist skill. As discussed in a previous article, translation requires specific requirements training, rather than just bilingualism. Legal translation is even more specialist, as it requires the translator not only to understand multiple languages but multiple legal languages, often referred to as ‘legalese’, and the legal system of each of the jurisdictions. Even territories with the same language and culture can have different legal systems - take the UK as an example, where Scotland has an entirely separate criminal justice system, or China, where Hong Kong has a completely different system to the rest of the country.

Understanding of legalese

Legalese is the language of the law, and is highly specific to each jurisdiction. Using the UK as an example again, what is ‘tort’ in England & Wales is known as ‘delict’ in Scotland. Only a highly trained and experienced legal translator can accurately translate legalese from the source language into the correct legalese in the target language. Many general translators would fail to understand the concepts in law, which could significantly impact the correctness and quality of your translation. 

It is important that your translator has a good understanding of the sector you operate in. Only a legal translation specialist will fully grasp what you are trying to achieve. It can be frustrating to opt for a cheaper service from a general translation provider, only to have to explain your needs again and again, or worse, send translations back for amendments again and again, or even worse, trusting completely the provider only to have the documents fail at court, because they do not have experience of working in the legal sector.  

Legal translation providers understand the quality and time-sensitive nature of legal translations, and so we tailor our service to ensure we meet client demands. While many other translation providers may promise to meet your deadlines, they may be unfamiliar with the consequences of failing to do so. They may not have the internal set up to guarantee that your translations will not only be on time, but to the quality you need and expect. When you have a tight deadline, receiving a translation that contains inaccuracies, errors or is simply not fit for purpose can be disastrous.

Many legal translations must meet specific legal requirements. As a specialist legal translations provider, we stay up to date with those requirements and work closely with our customers to ensure we meet any such needs for their projects. 

Because we focus solely on legal translation services covering all practice areas, the technology and resources our translators have access to are specifically chosen for their application to legal translation. Whilst many translation service providers use up-to-date technology, we carefully manage our technology and processes to ensure all of our translators have access to what they need to provide the best service to legal sector clients. 

We are ISO 17100 certified, which means that we are dedicated to analysing and improving our internal processes to ensure we always provide the highest quality services to our clients. As legal translations specialists, our services and processes are tailored specifically to meet the demands of legal sector clients. The ISO17100 certification also emphasises the importance  of early collaboration between customer and provider, so we always consult with you to fully understand the needs of your project and agree on quality elements in advance. 

Contact IMD Translation

Here at IMD Translation, we specialise in translating for the professional services, including all legal practice areas. We understand your needs and the challenges you face. To discuss your legal translation project with an experienced member of our team, contact us today. We look forward to assisting you.