A 2023 study revealed that 30.2% of sentences underwent errors when machine-translated in the context of legal translation. Every language has its quirks, and there is almost always no one-to-one direct translation or analog for specialized words. Combine that issue with the labyrinthine complexity of legalese, and you may have an inkling of exactly how hard translating legal documents can be.
Yet, legal translation is a necessary part of the field. When expanding, businesses tend to operate outside their home country. Law firms serving these businesses—or those operating overseas—must hire a professional translator or two for audio recordings or documents, which carries significant costs.
On the other hand, they can hire expert legal translator services to meet their needs.
In this article, you’ll learn how:
- Legal translation is translating recordings or documents from one language to another target language.
- Legal translation has many benefits, including enhancing accessibility, ensuring legal compliance, and expanding business opportunities.
- Ditto’s legal translation and transcription services offer a better value over hiring in-house, thanks to our expertise, accuracy, quality, and scalability.
What Is An Expert Legal Translator?
An expert legal translator works on legal document translation and transcription projects to cross the divide between different languages in legal or business matters. Legal translators often work with different types of translation and localization jobs, including:
| Type of Document/Recording | Description |
| Legal Contracts And Agreements | Agreements between parties that outline terms and conditions, such as employment contracts, lease agreements, and service contracts. |
| Court Documents | Documents related to court proceedings, including filings, judgments, and orders. |
| Legal Briefs and Summaries | Summaries of legal cases, arguments, and precedents used in court cases or legal consultations. |
| Patents and Trademarks | Documents related to patent and trademark applications, registration, and defense. |
| Corporate Documents | Documentation related to the governance of corporations, such as incorporation documents, shareholder agreements, and annual reports. |
| Immigration Documents | Forms and supporting documents used in immigration applications, such as visa applications, asylum requests, and citizenship paperwork. |
| Wills and Trusts | Documents outline an individual’s wishes regarding the distribution of their estate after death. |
| Financial Documents | Documents relating to financial matters include audits, financial statements, and investment agreements. |
| Legal Correspondence | Communications between legal parties, including letters, emails, and memos. |
| Deposition Transcripts | Written records of the sworn statements made by witnesses during depositions. |
| Recorded Interviews and Statements | Audio or video recordings of interviews, statements, or testimonials used in legal proceedings. |
| Arbitration Documents | Documents and agreements related to arbitration proceedings outside of court. |
Why Translate Legal Documents And Recordings?
There are plenty of reasons why a company or a law firm would hire the assistance of legal translators. Here are the most important ones:
- Facilitating International Business: Expanding businesses must open their doors to international trade. Legal translators ready to work on documents and recordings allow these businesses to operate smoothly despite language barriers. An accurately translated contract can prevent misunderstandings leading to legal disputes or financial losses.
- Ensuring Fair Business Practice And Proper Legal Compliance: Legal documents must be translated to ensure all parties fully understand each other’s scope and obligations. Additionally, official documents like contracts, patents, or corporate filings in many countries and jurisdictions require legally certified translations to be considered valid.
- Accuracy Of Legal Records: Expert translation is often synonymous with accuracy, and accuracy is absolutely critical for any legal document or recording. A mistranslated word can effectively change the meaning of a section or even a whole document, undermining the whole process and putting parties at increased risk of legal issues.
- Enhanced Accessibility: Translated transcripts and documents are readily accessible to every party involved. Individuals can actively engage with the documents or transcripts and provide insights and perspectives that would have otherwise been lost behind the language barrier.
Hiring Vs. Outsourcing To Legal Translation Services
In 2023, roughly 52,000 interpreters and translators are employed in the US. The mean annual wage for these positions is $63,080 across various industries and languages.
We all understand the importance of legal translation of documents and recordings. However, we must also consider that companies and law firms might not require legal translation at every operating moment. $63k might be hard to justify when the translator’s time is not fully utilized.
That’s why multilingual legal translation service providers like Ditto are the better option in terms of value and expertise. With us, you’re paying a fraction of the cost of hiring an in-house translator and only paying for the work when needed.
Furthermore, you know you’re hiring professionals so you can expect high-quality and accurate translation. At least, that will be the case when you work with Ditto Transcripts.
Why Not Have AI Translate My Legal Documents And Recordings?
AI is a great tool for many things, including data analysis, wide-scale image recognition, automation, predictive analytics, fraud detection, and robotics development. It is also getting cheaper and cheaper every day.
Do you know what AI is not good for? Translation and transcription.
The issue with AI translation and transcription is that the core operating mechanics of artificial intelligence are not suited for the task. Large AI language models cannot be learned by themselves. They need to be fed information, taught how to process it, and generate results based on restricted and very literal parameters.
Translation and transcription require contextual understanding and an eye (and ear) for nuance and figurative language. These are things that often can’t—or do not need to—be taught to humans.
Legal translation is even more sensitive, as there is much more on the line should the translator mess up. The consequences of inaccurate legal translation include:
- Misinterpretation of legal terms,
- Legal disputes and litigation,
- Non-compliance with regulations,
- Financial losses,
- Damage to reputation,
- Delays in legal proceedings,
- Incorrect enforcement of legal rights,
- Security risks,
- Impact on various business processes, and
- Erroneous legal documents.
So, ask yourself: is saving a few bucks worth these risks?
The Benefits Of Legal Translation Done By Experts
There’s no need to hire in-house or test your luck with machine-translated documents. Have your legal documents and recordings translated by professionals with proven expertise and a cache of satisfied clients, and you’ll never have to worry again.
Ditto Transcripts offers legal translation and transcription services in various languages. Hire us, and you’ll enjoy these benefits:
Scalable Solutions
Ditto’s legal translation services are open for any law firm or business, regardless of the scale of work. Do you need a single document translated? Done. Do you need bulk translations? No problem.
Our service is designed to cater to individual needs, eliminating the necessity of keeping a legal translator on the payroll when there’s no translation work needed.
Accuracy
At Ditto, we value accuracy above all else. We understand cultural nuances and even the most complex terms. All translation and transcription work undergoes several rounds of error-checking and proofreading to ensure our standard of accuracy and quality.
Our certified legal translation service guarantees 99% accuracy, minimizing mistranslations so your business or law firm won’t get left hanging during negotiations or court proceedings.
Specialized Knowledge
Ditto has been around since 2010, and we’ve operated in the legal translation and transcription space since the very start. We know our way around legalese and can easily translate complex legal terminology into your target language.
We can translate documents from and into Arabic, French, Italian, Spanish, German (including Old High German), and more.
We’ve worked with dozens of clients from different states in the US with their critical business and legal translation work. You’re in good hands.
Confidentiality
Ditto utilizes the most comprehensive security measures to protect every word that passes through our systems. Our rigorous protocols include:
- Detailed Reporting and Tracking Features
- Individually Defined User Access Levels
- Individual User Names, Passwords, and PINs (immediate deactivation upon request)
- Scaled Network Redundancy
- Virtual Private Network (VPN) Integration
- Dedicated Data Centers
- Encrypting All Data With SSL 256-bit Encryption
- Employee Background Checks
- Translators Willing To Sign Non-Disclosure Agreements
Furthermore, we are FINRA, CJIS, and HIPAA-compliant, which means businesses and law firms that utilize medical and criminal justice information are safe with us.
Cost Savings
There is no need to spend $63,000 annually on quality legal translation. You also don’t need to worry about overhead costs like equipment, office space, vacation days, bonuses, benefits, etc.
Ditto’s document translation services start at $0.50 per page, and our audio and video translation starts at $5.00 per audio minute.
No Long-Term Contracts
Get whatever legal translation service you need, when you need it, without worrying about long-term commitments or contracts. Ditto offers a pay-as-you-go option, though most of our institutional clients work with us for the long term.
Like what you’re reading, but not entirely convinced yet? Take us out for a test drive with our five-day free trial.
Legal Translation For Experts, By Experts
We understand the critical and sensitive nature of legal translation. That’s why we here at Ditto have crafted our services to provide businesses and law firms with the industry’s most accurate legal translation and transcription service.
Call us, and see why we’re the best in the game.
Ditto Transcripts is a FINRA, CJIS, and HIPAA-compliant translation and transcription services company based in Denver, Colorado. We provide fast, accurate, and affordable transcripts for individuals and companies of all sizes. Call (720) 287-3710 today for a free quote and ask about our free five-day trial.
