Translating legal content is one of the most demanding specialisations. A faulty contract clause, an inaccurate rendering of a court ruling or an incorrect term in a regulatory submission can have significant legal and financial consequences.
Why do good legal translations require specialists?
Legal language is precise, formulaic and uses the terminology of the respective national legal system. A 'trust' in English common law has no direct equivalent in Swiss civil law. To offer a workable solution here, legal translators must not only have perfect command of both languages but also understand the legal systems of both jurisdictions.
Common legal documents that need translation
Legal service providers regularly require translations of contracts and commercial agreements, court orders and judgments, witness statements and affidavits, articles of association, intellectual property filings, regulatory compliance documents and due diligence materials.
Contract translation
Contracts are the backbone of our daily transactions. They govern rights and obligations between parties in the private, professional and public spheres. Their translation therefore requires more than linguistic skill. The specialist translator must understand the full repertoire and its components and be able to transfer them into the target language.
An absolute must: confidentiality and data security
Legal documents are confidential by their very nature. A reputable translation provider demonstrates robust security practices: ideally an ISO 27001 certification, encrypted file transfer, strict access controls and legally binding confidentiality agreements.
The ideal case: lawyers translating for lawyers
You are best served by a translation agency that employs trained lawyers (MLaw or equivalent) as translators. These specialists make sure everything is correct — by translating themselves and/or reviewing the work of translators with extensive experience in legal translation.
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