How proud are you about the business you built from scratch and are on the verge of going global? It is every entrepreneur’s dream to be able to compete for the neck to neck at the international level. Whether it’s an e-commerce store or an online retail company you need to stand on the right side of the legalities too. Businesses in need of legal professionals cannot underestimate the power of translation.
You hire a team of powerful lawyers, to persuade the clients with what a good investment your business is and the profits will do them all good and so on. But it always comes down to one thing; language.
To be able to grow as a brand globally, you need to understand how language can have a huge impact on your business rulings. To spell the right verse of communication is important to win the deal. To avoid any disastrous outcomes, legal translation services providers seek to communicate with the third party.
Usually, lawyers working on an international scale have to work with LSPs (Language Service Providers) providing excellent translation, many are bilingual and in some cases multilingual as well. Please note that it is important to recruit a qualified legal translator for global businesses, as a lot of legalities are involved.
When it comes to choosing the language service provider, you need to keep an eye on the following aspect;
- Language capability
The first thing you need to know is whether the translator provided to you by the translation agency meets the language requirements or not.
You need to be aware of your linguistics need as well. For some small-scale businesses, a freelance translator may prepare a contract but if your company is part of a larger project then hiring a professional translation service is the answer to your calls you need.
Sometimes it may also happen that you are working to attract more than a single domain, therefore, being the client, your better option is to go forward with MLV (Multi-Language Vendor).
- Experience in the legal industry
One wrong word translated can lead to a disastrous turn of events, so how is your translator doing? Legal translation requires precision, accuracy, and efficiency to put things through. One thing to remember is that legal terms and their understanding differ from country to country, so yes legal translation is a lot trickier.
When you translate a sentence (even a regular word) it changes the entire meaning of the sentence. That’s why legal translators must be able to understand the terms, their meanings, and translate them accordingly.
Client needs to feel comfortable and confident in their working, so it’s better to always ask for portfolios, if not available then investigate the testimonial on the official website of your shortlisted LSPs.
- Exceptional cases
Legal standards vary in each country which means the mode of translation will also be different. LSP have their set standards deemed as certified translations.
To ensure the translators are legally approved and valid, they must have passed quality assurance tests and trials. Some LSPs have a strict selection process to verify the expertise of the translator and to ensure they fulfill the set criteria to become part of the legal team.
Another thing to keep in the account is they need to have the legal knowledge as well. Such translators are termed as subject matter experts. They have intricate knowledge of the specific industry and are capable to produce the desired level of translation meeting the high standard of the company and client’s as well.
- Quality assurance
At the end of the day, accurate translation matters the most. Whether it’s an interpreter or a translator, legal work needs to be handled carefully to deliver the project on time.
Keep certain questions in mind like
- What are their qualifications?
- Do they require training and if so which level of the translator are they?
- How will they address complaints if any error rises during proofreading?
By asking such questions you can ensure LSPs will provide you their best team of legal translators with a thorough understanding of the source content and the target language. Proofreading and editing are two exceptional steps, not every LSP provides it, and some that do provide it can charge surplus for it too. As an extra precaution to ensure quality remains up-to-the-mark clients are tricked into paying a lump sum. So be careful about it.
- Price negotiations
As we said earlier some LSPs are bound to charger higher than their usual rate, so it’s necessary to make a list of companies offering the equivalent rates for legal translation services. Because it’s risky and more challenging than other industries, the case severity is higher than usual which is likely to increase the cost per word.
But if you are working on a tight budget always keep a backup plan; long term clients have the advantage to use loyal discount offers which is a good negotiation. Besides, the more sensitive your content is, the higher the price quote will be. Likewise, in case of urgency, the price per word can increase too. Firms usually hire LSP for long term use because it’s not a smart decision to keep changing translation companies, so once you join hands with one company for a long duration you can become eligible for discount offers.
- Availability matters
Time is of the essence, every second count. Business deals in different time zones as well. Your client may be working in China while you are working in the UK. You need to be able to communicate and deliver important documents on time. Keeping the time differences in mind, legal translators have to follow strict deadlines.
Some cases are more complicated and require efficient translation to meet the deadlines. The sooner the attorneys/translators can deliver the case the better it is. Likewise, if you had to face litigation, you need to make sure the translator understands the urgency of that matter and is available even at the last minute.
Security concerns are always present, and to overcome these concerns make sure you hire the LSP that best suits your requirement at every step and promptly guides you as a professional service provider.
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Translations should always be accurately meaningful because due to little mistakes it may take your life, business and much more in danger.