A Professional Legal Translation needs to be totally accurate. A translation company will help you to achieve this over a freelance translator.

When it comes to translating the day to day business documents, most people have two choices. One, to hire a freelance translator who is self-pronounced to be talented in the language you are looking for. Secondly, a professional language translation company that adheres to strict language translation industry practices. It is true that the price you pay to a reputable translation company is likely to be higher, but what you get is the assurance of the quality of work, whereas the individual freelancer has much less consideration for your welfare. This is even more so when it comes to legal translation for official documents that will be used in court or contract signing.

When it comes to specialist legal translation services, what you want is quality and accuracy. Most clients’ priority is to have a high quality translation rather than a cheap one. Clients want to have peace of mind when they hire someone to do the translation, so that a legally accurate translated document will be produced at the end and not having to complain after that. This is where most freelance translators differ compared to a translation company. There is no reputation or credibility for the individual translator to protect as they can simply change their name in future translation jobs. However, a professional company will need to maintain their company name, reputation and long term business relationship with the client. Therefore, the approach to customer satisfaction is totally different.

Legal Face To Face Interpretation

Legal translation service is not only limited to the translation of documents, but also includes face to face interpretation for clients in court or with their legal counsel. In the UK, there is no formal regulation or official government policy that requires the legal interpreter to be certified by an authority. Any foreign immigrants who have some English skills and a writing pad can hold themselves out as an interpreter in court, albeit not a professional one. In this circumstance, it is even more important for the client to hire a translation company that is able to supply a high calibre legal interpreter.

According to the industry standard, a company that offers legal translation must only appoint legally qualified interpreters to the client. These interpreters must have either worked as legal practitioners before, or they have a law degree. Furthermore, they must also go through a certain professional translator body’s qualifications process and attained certification. The international bodies recognised for translator certification are the International Federation of Translator, the Association of Translation Companies, and the American Translators Association.

These professional bodies ensure that all their candidates are given rigorous interpreting and translation training before awarding its certification. The certified translator or interpreter may be costly, but when it comes to legal translation, it is better to be safe than sorry. The very accuracy of the legal translation could make or break your court case or visa application. All certified translators will be more than happy to put their signature down in front of a notary public to endorse the accuracy of their work. This in itself proves to you that they are willing to put their reputation on the line to guarantee the quality of their work. Therefore, the next time you need legal translation, be sure to request for a legal interpreter who has such certification to safe guard your interest.