Pricing

In the complex realm of professional services, including legal proceedings and financial reporting, accurate and reliable translation is not just a luxury — it's a necessity. Whether it involves translating contracts, witness statements, court documents, or other financial and legal materials, ensuring the precise translation of terminology and concepts is essential for upholding the integrity of proceedings and safeguarding the rights of all parties involved. Failure to do so can have significant consequences.
When it comes to business, financial, and legal language services, we understand cost and turnaround time are often top concerns – having an understanding of the factors that influence these aspects is crucial for making informed decisions and ensuring language services are a positive impact on your case.

Cost Factors in Legal Language Services

Pricing is influenced by several factors, including (but not limited to):
Document complexity: The complexity of legal documents can vary widely, from a straightforward birth certificate to detailed multijurisdictional contract terms. Complex documents with specialised legal jargon and terminology will generally require more time and expertise, and therefore a higher cost.
Word count: The volume of text to be translated is a straightforward factor in determining translation costs. More words to translate, the more it is going to cost and the longer it is going to take.
Language pair: The combination of languages involved also influences pricing. Languages that are less common or require highly specialised subject knowledge might command higher rates.
Urgency: If a something needs to be completed urgently, a higher rate may be applied to accommodate the tighter deadline and for "jumping the queue."
Additional Requirements: If ‘non-standard’ requirements are needed, such as a sworn translation, apostille, or notarisation, additional costs may be incurred. 

Pricing Models for Legal Language Services

There are several different approaches to pricing depending on scope and requirement. Here are some of the most common:
Per-word pricing: This is the most popular approach, as it is transparent and straightforward. A fixed rate is charged per word of the original text.
Per project pricing: This approach makes sense when the scope of a project and expectations can be reasonably anticipated. A fixed project rate is provided, which can simplify decision-making and signoff.
Per hour pricing: This approach may be appropriate for very limited scope projects or tasks that require additional expertise, such as formatting, transcreation, or interpreting

Translation Turnaround Times

Translation projects can encompass a wide range of document types, each with its own unique characteristics and turnaround time considerations.On average, a single linguist can translate on average between two to two and a half thousand words per day. Of course, this is a very generalised average and is impacted by several factors such as specialism and content, source and target file types, end usage and audience.
By way of example, a translation of a contract, which tend to be lengthy and involve intricate legal language, require meticulous translation and careful review. As such, turnaround times can vary, depending on the complexity of the document, from a few days for some shorter and simple T&Cs, to several weeks for longer and more complex multinational contract documents.
Turnaround times for 'simpler' documents such as correspondence like emails or letters tend to be shorter (although, 'the longer the wordcount, the longer the turnaround time' still rings true).

What Should you do if you Need a Language Service? 

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If you have a need, reach out to our team to discuss and for a non-obligatory quotation. 
For professional service firms and legal professionals navigating the global legal landscape, partnering with a reputable translation agency ensures that linguistic intricacies don't become legal complications.