Where Should You Get Your Legal Documents Translated?

where should you get your legal documents translated

One of the earliest questions businesses – and individuals – often ask when assigning legal translation work is: Where should we get our legal documents translated?

It’s a valid question. Most people don’t know a legal translator who’s available when they have a document they need to be translated.

They have to ask their friends and family members and hope that the referral they get can meet their needs.

But the problem is: Legal translation is different. It’s harder and more complex than other forms of translation.

So where should you go to get your legal documents translated? Keep reading to find out.

What is legal translation?

Before we answer the question ‘where to get legal documents translated?’ let’s first clarify what legal translation is – and isn’t.

Legal translation is the translation of any legal document or text. Legal texts are more complex, filled with legal terminology and jargon, and can be in a certain field.

The legal translator needs to be a bilingual expert in both the source and target languages as well as one or more areas where the legal translation is needed.

While there are many different types of legal documents, the most commonly requested is legal contract translation.

Where to translate legal documents: Define your needs

Now let’s find out where you can get your legal document translated.

In translation, including legal translation, there are 3 main ways to get any text translated. These are:

–        Hiring a freelance translator

–        Hiring a full-time or in-house translator (if you’re a company)

–        Working with a translation agency

While translating legal documents usually comes with a higher price tag than other types of translation, each of the above options affects the cost of translation.

To decide between these 3, you first need to define your needs. Start by asking yourself these questions:

–        Is this a one-time thing?

–        Do you/will you have regular needs for a legal translator?

–        Are you a business or an individual?

If you answered question 2 with a ‘yes,’ you need to ask yourself: Can you afford to hire a full-time legal translator? Do you even need one?

Where to get legal documents translated

Once you’ve determined your needs, you can move on to deciding between freelancers, full-timers, and an agency.

Each of these options has its pros and cons.

–        Full-time legal translator

Let’s start with the in-house or full-time legal translator. You’ll need to start with an extensive hiring process to decide who can translate your legal document.

 The problem is: Not all translators can translate legal texts.

You’ll also need to determine if they’re indeed skilled and know what they’re doing – or your company can be in jeopardy!

–        Freelance legal translator

People and businesses often turn to freelance legal translators because they have one-off jobs or documents. They have no need to hire someone full-time.

Often this freelancer will be a referral from a friend, family member, or colleague.

However, the downside of working with freelance translators is that you won’t be able to get a certified translation. Similarly, getting your legal document translated into several languages – if needed – will be hard and costly.

And while hiring a freelance legal translator can reduce your overall translation costs, you have to endure the long and difficult hiring and vetting process which you may not be qualified for.

–        Working with a legal translation agency

Last but not least, is working with a legal translation company or agency.

Like freelancers, businesses and individuals turn to translation companies because they can provide legal translation services when needed and don’t require a full-time commitment.

Legal translation service providers, like TranslationPartner, can offer additional benefits, such as:

1) Provide certified translations.

2) Deliver projects faster.

3) Translate legal texts into several languages.

4) Have a team of reviewers.

5) Have more experience translating legal texts.

6) Can provide additional translation services.

Conclusion

Legal translation has many rules and is generally seen as different and complex. Legal translators are great researchers and resourceful. They need to be bilingual legal language experts.

This is one of the reasons the cost of translating legal documents is quite high. That, and the accuracy involved in the legal translation process.

As you can see, working with a language service provider offers you a variety of benefits that working with full-timers and freelancers doesn’t.

Similarly, a translation brief can ensure you and your legal translation agency are on the same track and clear about deliverables and details.

So if you’re looking for an Arabic language-focused translation agency or legal translation agency in general, then you’ve come to the right place.

TranslationPartner provides its customers with professional legal translation services from and into several languages.

Reach out to the TranslationPartner team with your translation needs and our team will ensure your needs are met and your projects are ready on time.