The legal world is complicated and tough to navigate, never mind the language barriers that can persist. That’s why it’s an asset to know which legal translation services are available to you, whether it’s a personal matter or a business legal document.
Luckily, we have curated a list of some of the best legal translation services available in 2023. So, let’s get to it!
1. TheWordPoint
TheWordPoint hits all the marks to get to the number one spot for the best certified legal translation agency. The biggest reason they earn this spot is because of their recruitment process for translators in the legal niche. They don’t just hire any old translator and put them on legal projects. They specifically hire qualified experts with a background in legislation to serve as legal translators.
They also continue to employ their specialties by only assigning translators to the projects that fit according to their background and expertise. This process helps to maintain their overwhelmingly positive customer feedback. Customers have expressed that the translated legal documents are delivered on time and accepted in foreign courts. TheWordPoint is highly recommended for all legal translation needs.
2. TranslateHub
TranslateHub is consistently within the top firms of translation services for legal documents. They are one of the few firms in the industry that have the certification needed for legal document translation. Any projects they help with can be given to governmental authorities with the confidence that they will be accepted and enacted upon.
However, the certified translation service that TranslateHub offers is a bit pricier than regular translations. But, TranslateHub is very open about their prices and let every visitor see what they charge for projects. This transparency helps to put them at the top of review lists because it increases customer trust and satisfaction. This trust and satisfaction is reflected in their customer reviews, high quality translations, and 24/7 report for customers when needed.
3. Genius Translation
The legal translators at GeniusTranslation.com are all extremely qualified to be doing certified work for legal translations. Each of the legal translators went through a lengthy screening process to prove that they have the legal knowledge, experience, training, and skillset to accurately translate legal documents flawlessly.
The thing that helps Genius Translation translators stand out is their specificity in legal areas. While some legal translators have general legal knowledge, Genius Translation hires people from all over the legal field, each with unique experiences in certain legal areas. This way they can cater to all unique legal translation necessities, including a legal language translator. Their specific areas of expertise include law and statutes, immigration, business regulations, marriage and family law, and financial and business law.
4. Worldwide Express
Worldwide Express is another great option for those looking for legal document translation services. They guarantee that all of their legal translation of documents is done by human beings, which is a rare find in the current translation industry. This is a great advantage for Worldwideexpress.ca customers, because many times AI can sometimes be temperamental with translations. Since AI only translates word for word, it can miss the meaning of whole sentences and result in translation errors.
Worldwide Express also offers certified translations which are important when translating legal documents. While these are a bit pricier, it does mean the translation is done by a native speaker of the target language. Additionally, Worldwideexpress.ca has overall positive customer reviews. While there are reports in formatting and quality errors, which in legal translations can be a big problem, all these reports were followed up with by Worldwideexpress.ca, who acknowledged the concerns and made the requested changes when appropriate quickly and efficiently. They go the extra mile to make sure their customers are satisfied with the final end product.
5. TA Ontario
TA Ontario is the last one on our list of the best legal documents translation services. They are definitely worth checking out if you are crunched for time since they use mainly machine generated translations. This means that they can get your project back in a quick time frame since human speed is not a barrier.
However, they do not have any specialty translation areas, and as such, legal documentation translation can be a bit hard for them to do accurately. A legal document translator needs to have special knowledge in legal areas to be able to accurately translate the jargon that comes with legal documents. Without this, you run the risk of ending up with incorrect, jumbled translations, that will not be accepted by the necessary governmental bodies or judicial courts. That being said, TA Ontario does continue to have a positive reputation for translation projects in general, so if you are looking for a quick translation that is relatively good compared to other companies on the market, give them a peek.
What Legal Documents Can Translation Services Complete?
While any legal document translations are valid and can be done by translation services, there are some documents where certified legal translators are required, especially when these in the case of international arbitration, to avoid negative repercussions.in the legal proceedings.
Some of these documents include:
- Individual or personal documents
- Job contracts
- Protection of ownership documents
- Commercial and corporate litigation documents
- Anti-trust related documents
- Merger or acquisition documents
Things to Know when Hiring Translators
Not all legal translators and legal translation services are the same. There are some very important things to know and consider when looking at who to hire.
- ISO certification: without an ISO certification, the translator may not be the best available to you. Especially for legal documents, without this certification the translated documents may not be accepted by all the necessary parties.
- Human translation: despite the fact that machines are heavily in use throughout the translation industry today, human translation is still often the best you’ll find. Machines don’t understand culture or the nuances of language as well as humans do. Human translators can verify that the tone and necessary jargon is correctly translated into the target language with the culture understanding required in the legal sphere. Plus, humans are better capable of understanding the context of the documents than machines, and thus can ensure full adherence to the demands of customers.
- Cost: Certified translation will always be a little bit more expensive than regular translation services. However, for legal documentation this is well worth it. It is important to stay vigilant though. Some companies hike up their costs simply because they know they can get away with it. Make sure the price of your requested translation is fair for the services you want and affordable for your budget, without being too low as to produce cheap and neglected products.
- Read customer reviews: customers will be honest about their experiences. Make sure to read what others are saying before deciding on a service to use. Sometimes they hide the bad things just to draw in business. Luckily, we have helped in this regard by creating our list. Check out our other rankings of translation agencies for more help in your translation quest.