From helping employees obtain their visas to putting together multibillion-dollar contracts across countries, multinational businesses rely on legal services for numerous reasons. Because of the detailed and technical nature of a legal document, one mistake can change its entire meaning, perhaps even causing it to be rejected. To avoid such huge issues from happening, multinational companies can greatly benefit from hiring a professional translation service to help them navigate through their legal documents.

Here are the top five ways international businesses can benefit from legal translation services:

Ensuring that Translations are Precise

Because legal documents typically have very specific requirements, even a simple change in spacing, format, or structure can cause expensive delays or even void the document. Furthermore, an incorrect translation of an important detail, such as a name, can trigger challenges in court, leading to prolonged court proceedings or causing an essential document, such as a patent application, to be denied.

As an example of legal translation errors, consider the 2011 case of South Korea having to withdraw its free trade agreement document, because it contained 207 errors in Korean translation. After revising the agreement, 128 translation mistakes were made, and the document was again withdrawn; finally, a new document was issued.

Making Certain that the Correct Meaning is Relayed

With numerous words having multiple meanings in most languages, the process of translation can become complicated, especially when working with legal documents that cross borders. Choosing the correct word or phrase is essential to the accuracy of the document; however, even if a word is correctly translated, the concept it relays can greatly vary from one language to another, making the legal translation that much more complex.

Additionally, the tone that is used for legal content is important. For instance, the majority of legal documents written in English are presented using an active voice. Yet, if the target language is usually written in a passive voice, major sentence restructuring will be necessary.

Considering all of these challenges, attempting to translate a legal document, such as a contract, without the help of a language services provider (LSP), is almost guaranteed to cause huge problems.

Being Confident that Documents are Culturally Sensitive

When translating legal documents, the process involves much more than ensuring that content is grammatically correct and that legal concepts are accurately conveyed; it also involves making certain that the words and phrases being used are culturally sensitive. This includes understanding the social climate of the region, including the area’s nuances and traditions. To guarantee that the content will be culturally appropriate, select a legal translation services provider that works with translators who are native speakers of the language. Native speakers will pay close attention to any word or phrase being used to make sure it is culturally acceptable.

Ensuring Quality Management

Since many legal documents are lengthy, detailed, and often revised, quality management is a vital step of the translation process. This means working with a translator who is an expert in the necessary legal field and who understands the terminology and concepts that need to be translated. Additionally, by working with a legal translation company, the business will be assured their legal document translation will go through a quality management process that includes editing and cross-checking the document to make certain there are no mistakes.

Sorting Out International Legal Requirements

Countries across the globe have their own legal systems and their unique legal requirements. Even more complicated is that different regions within a country might have their own legal requirements. Therefore, a contract in one country might look very different from a contract in another country. A legal translation services provider with experts in international law can help businesses sort through those requirements to make sure that documents are following each country’s regulations.

As multinational businesses continue to develop, the need for legal translation services will continue to grow. To be assured that legal documents are precisely translated, it is critical to partner with a language services provider specializing in legal translations.

Summary

Because of the detailed and technical nature of a legal document, one mistake can change its entire meaning, perhaps even causing it to be voided. As such, multinational businesses can greatly benefit from legal translation services.