Legal translation requires legal judgment, not just legal vocabulary
Anyone can learn legal terminology from a glossary. That is not what makes a legal translator. What makes a legal translator is understanding why a clause is drafted a particular way, what it is trying to achieve, and how to achieve the same thing in the target language and legal system. When you translate a US asset purchase agreement for use in a Spanish jurisdiction, you are not just finding word equivalents. You are navigating two different legal systems with different default rules, different concepts of title transfer, and different regulatory requirements.
Our legal translators hold law degrees, have worked at law firms, served as in-house legal counsel, or worked as legal researchers. They understand both the source and target legal systems. For highly specialized work (patent litigation, securities regulation, ERISA), we assign translators with specific practice area experience.
Every legal translation at partytranslator goes through our full TEP process with a second legal professional at the editing stage.
Legal document types we handle
We cover the complete spectrum of legal documentation for law firms, corporate legal teams, courts, and individual clients:
- Litigation: complaints, answers, motions, briefs, court orders, judicial opinions
- Discovery: deposition transcripts, interrogatory responses, document productions
- Contracts: purchase agreements, joint ventures, licensing agreements, NDAs
- Corporate law: merger agreements, shareholder agreements, board resolutions, company bylaws
- Immigration: USCIS petitions, visa applications, EOIR submissions, asylum documentation
- Intellectual property: patent applications, trademark filings, licensing agreements
- Real estate: title documents, purchase contracts, title commitment letters
- Employment law: employment contracts, non-compete agreements, separation agreements
- Criminal: indictments, plea agreements, sentencing memoranda, parole documents
- International arbitration: ICC, UNCITRAL, JAMS, and AAA submissions
Confidentiality and privilege
Legal documents are by definition sensitive. Every translator assigned to a legal project signs a project-specific NDA before receiving files. Access to your documents is limited to the assigned translator, the reviewer, and the project manager. Files are transferred and stored only over encrypted connections.
If your firm requires a formal engagement letter or NDA at the firm level before we discuss your matter, we welcome that. Contact us before sending any files and we will sign whatever is needed. We do not use client documents for any purpose other than completing your project.
For matters that are subject to attorney-client privilege, we understand that translation services may fall within the scope of privilege when provided to a client on a law firm's instructions. We are happy to discuss how your engagement should be structured to preserve privilege if this is a concern.
Pricing and turnaround
Legal translation projects are priced per document for certified work and per 1,000 source words for other legal documents. Standard turnaround is 3-5 business days. Rush 24-hour service is available. For litigation support requiring rapid translation of large document volumes, contact us to discuss team-based delivery.
We provide fixed price quotes, not hourly estimates. The price you are quoted is the price you pay. For large or ongoing matters, ask about our volume discount and retainer arrangements.