Top 5 Essential Tips for Successful Legal Translation Projects by MTT (Full Transcript)

Speaker 1: Hello, here are five top tips from MTT to help you get the best results for your legal translation projects. Tip number one, use someone qualified. It almost goes without saying that for legal translation, it's vital to use a qualified translator who will understand the legal terminology involved and the implications of incorrect translation. You'll need to work with an agency which is also suitably qualified, has ISO certification and ITI membership, which will give credibility to your translation in the eyes of the courts. A translation from an approved agency is seen as independent and unbiased, and at MTT we're also happy to work with you on technical terminology, for example if a contract is involved for a piece of equipment. Tip number two, legal interpreting is not the same as general interpreting. A good agency should always offer an NRPSI registered interpreter for a court or legal appointment. These are the only linguists who will have had the specialist training in legal interpreting, required to ensure that they do their job properly and know how to work within the legal system. It's worth asking when you book an interpreter if they have this qualification, for your own peace of mind. For a court case, the consequences of incorrect interpretation, lack of knowledge of how the court system works and how to behave while in the courtroom can be very serious. Tip number three, be careful with certificates. The translation of birth, marriage or death certificates is generally easy and straightforward. If you need a certificate translating for use abroad, however, do be aware that certain embassies hold approved lists of translators and have special procedures that you must follow. It's always worth checking with the embassy concerned if they need someone in particular to carry out the translation and if it needs any special form of certification. Remember, we're always happy to help you if you need any advice and can arrange most things once you're sure what you need. Tip number four, authentication. Some translations will need to be authenticated and there are a variety of ways that this can be done, so it's worth checking up on what you need. We offer a free certification on our letterhead, which will serve in most cases, but you might need to have an affidavit signed or the document notarised, both of which will incur an additional cost. If you let us know before we start work, we can usually arrange for the authenticated translation to be delivered within the normal time scale. It's worth spending a few minutes checking what you might need before time is wasted. We're always happy to send you examples of what can be done. Tip number five, try to allow enough time. Legal language can be quite involved and it takes time to produce an accurate, clear translation. We may need to ask questions or have background information, so please try to leave a sensible amount of time for your project. As a guide, we would need about a day to translate 1,500 words comfortably, so please let us know if you need something quickly. I hope that this has given you a few things to think about when considering a legal translation and please don't hesitate to speak to one of our team if you have any queries. A lot of the work that we do is legal-based translation and interpreting, so come and speak to the experts and we'll help you every step of the way.