Effective communication is critical in the legal industry, especially when serving culturally and linguistically diverse populations. As of 2013, more than 20 percent (61.8 million) of individuals living in the United States spoke a language other than English in their home.
With a growing number of limited English proficient (LEP) individuals nationwide, legal language services are a valuable resource to the legal community.
If you need to communicate with limited-English proficient clients or provide translated documents, you may need legal language services to ensure that effective communication is taking place, and to address compliance with government standards and regulations.
In this post, we’ll look at how legal interpretation and translation improve legal services, the components of developing a language access plan, and common settings that require legal language services.
Legal Interpreters and Translators
Legal settings require the highest level of accuracy and attention to detail. It is important that legal interpreters and translators have more than just native fluency, but also extensive knowledge of legal terminology and protocol. Telelanguage ensures its network of interpreters and translators are trained and certified using the most rigorous criteria.
In addition to legal terminology and protocol, legal interpreters and translators may also specialize in a particular area of law, such as immigration law, family law, workers’ comp, etc.
(Video) How Language Access Improves Legal Services
Developing a Language Access Plan
To ensure that clients have meaningful access to your organization’s services, it is essential to evaluate legal language services and develop a comprehensive language access plan. Every organization has its own unique needs. Telelanguage can help your organization develop a language access plan to suit your specific needs.
A comprehensive language access plan should address:
- Assessing client language needs and capacity
- Cultural awareness training for attorneys and staff
- Access to legal certified and trained interpreters (telephonic, on-site, video remote)
- Translation of vital documents, legal information, and client communications
- Compliance for government standards and regulations
- Address privacy, confidentiality, and security
- Continuing to evaluate language access policies and procedures
Common Situations for Legal Interpreters
- Depositions
- Hearings
- Trials
- Examinations
- Consultations
- Arbitration and Mediation
- Judicial proceedings
- Independent Medical Examinations (IMEs)
- Legal Conferences
Commonly Translated Documents
- Contracts
- Proposals
- Statutes & Laws
- Agreements
- Legal Compliance Documents
- Summons / Complaints / Orders
- Discovery Materials
- Declarations
- Briefs
- Emails & Correspondence
- Marketing Materials
How Telelanguage Can Help
Research has shown that people prefer to do business in their native language, especially when they have limited-English proficiency. This gives legal professionals an opportunity to speak directly to these markets in the language they prefer.
Telelanguage offers complete legal language services solutions to fit your needs, including:
- Telephonic Interpretation
- Video Remote Interpreting
- On-Site Interpretation
- Translation Services
- Scheduling Software
Telelanguage has been providing legal language services since 1991. Security and confidentiality are extremely important to us. We provide a privacy notice to our customers who utilize our telephonic and face-to-face interpretation services. We protect personal and confidential information encountered during the interpretation process by maintaining physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that meet or exceed applicable law.
When a language barrier arises in a legal setting, using certified legal interpreters and legal translators will ensure effective communication for you and your limited-English proficient clients, be it a deposition, client meeting, legal document translation, or judicial proceeding.
If you are looking for a reliable language service provider or thinking about switching, contact us for more information or request a free quote. No matter what language your customers speak, Telelanguage can help.
Learn how offering language services empowers organizations. [Download the Free White Paper]
5,000+ interpreters ready to speak in over 300 languages!
Call Telelanguage Today: 1-888-983-5352
Superior Language Support for the Legal Industry: Security. Compliance. Satisfaction.