translation services

How to Choose the Best Legal Translation Services? 

 

Legal translation work is a highly specialized skill. It must be done with great care. The reason is that any error in translating a legal document can result in serious financial or legal damage for the clients and law firms involved. So, we must consider many factors before zeroing in on any legal translation services. Let us look at some tips while looking for any professional translation agency:

 

1. Verify the company’s reputation

A professional translation services company with a good reputation will work hard to protect their clients and themselves. So, it is better to check for the company’s history with previous clients. You can even look online for references. One of the most important things that reveals an agency’s professionalism and confidentiality is non-disclosure agreements. Once you figure out that a certain agency provides signed DNAs, you can say that you’re on the safe side when it comes to the confidentiality of your documents.

They also ensure the safety of the client’s data and provide high-quality services. Good legal translation services companies hire the best in order to get the best results. They understand how vital it is to get the nuances of the document right. They also have great customer service with properly formatted outputs.

2. Choose companies that specialize in legal translation

Most translation agencies have translators generic to many fields like medical, academic, technical, etc. On the other hand, some other professional translation services companies specialize in a particular field. Such companies hire experts from their field to translate documents for them. Similarly, legal translation companies hire people who are experts in the legal subject matter. They are not only translators, they tend to be lawyers as they merge a lot of knowledge in both linguistics and law. They understand legal jargon and will make fewer mistakes while interpreting and translating your documents. There are two kinds to pick from here: translation-only and translation and interpretation services.

3. Check their customer support availability 24×7

The reliability of any company can be told by how active their customer service department is. Good companies are constantly present to support and handle any issue that arises. They assure you of giving their help whenever you may be stuck. You can test this with a call, email, or text to the potential company’s customer service.

You can understand the quality of service with the way they handle the initial call. Also, services providing multilingual support are a plus. It shows their overall capability to handle local legal services and provide good translation for them.

4. Familiarity with the legal system of countries and international law

 

 

 

This is especially important for firms dealing with domestic and international legal issues. Different legal systems of the world use different legal jargon. So if you opt for global translation services, make sure they are well-versed in the jargon of laws of both source and target languages.

The translator may interpret texts from different languages in different ways. And so, it becomes important to have a fluent translator in both the languages and law. In this case, giving more preference to companies hiring native speakers while choosing a translation agency. As they understand the local culture and sentiments, they would interpret legal terms more accurately.

5. Check if they have quality assurance processes

While choosing a legal translation near you, make sure the company has review and proofreading processes and native editors vetting translated documents. After all, translators are only human. They can make mistakes too. 

Avoid going for companies that use machine translation and/or proofreading. Machines can make mistakes while trying to sound human. The best translation services online are those that have a second translator or manager verifying the first translators’ work. This maintains the quality of translation and guarantees the best possible results.

6. Understand the translation agency’s confidentiality policy







It is tough putting your trust in a third party, especially in matters involving legality. To avoid any problems in the future, it is better to look for professional translation services that respect your confidentiality. This also assures you of no risks when it comes to the security of your legal data.

Read their policy thoroughly and ensure that it is absolutely strong and water-tight. The company must adhere to it strictly. They must include tough cyber security tools and data protection mechanisms in place to secure your legal data. Even the confidential documents signed by the translators before undertaking assignments must be foolproof. As we mentioned before, signing an NDA before sending any documents is more than important.

7. Verify their speed of translation

Quality is undoubtedly important, but speed matters too. Check for how fast the potential legal translation company can get the job done. It must also be verified if the translation is done accurately. 

You can request a quote from the company to understand the delivery time so that you can estimate if they can provide their services as per your requirements. Sometimes, you may have an urgent case pending in court. Maybe the case was fast-tracked. In such cases, you may need a quick but accurate translation. Some companies even provide quicker, time-bound services for extra fees.

8. Check for their certifications and credentials

You need proper evidence to back up any legal translation. This can be ensured by a legal translation agency with a good reputation. The best translation services online are members of the Association of Translation Companies.

Members need to follow a strict code. Government courts and departments often ask for proof regarding the validity of a document. So, in case you are hiring a freelancer, make sure he/ she is a member of a reputable organization like AIIC or the Institute of Translation and Interpreting Association.

Conclusion

Overall, looking for a good legal translation services company must be done with precision. Make sure to hire the best in the industry. Since matters of legality are delicate, even a minor misinterpretation can lead to catastrophic results. Thus, it pays to hire a good translation company even at a little extra cost. We hope the above tips gave you a clearer picture of what to look for in a legal translation company.

 

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