Court and Litigation Translation

Translation and interpreting are different jobs

An interpreter renders speech, live, in the courtroom or at a deposition. A translator renders documents in writing. Courts treat them differently: interpreters are sworn under rules such as Federal Rule of Evidence 604 and, in federal court, certified under the Court Interpreters Act; translators sign a certificate of accuracy for each translation. We do the written side: exhibits, discovery documents, foreign judgments, contracts, messages and records. For a courtroom or deposition interpreter, contact the court's interpreter office or an interpreting agency.

What a court-ready translation includes

• Everything on the page. Letterheads, stamps, handwritten notes and signatures are translated or described in brackets, so opposing counsel cannot say part of the exhibit was left out.
• Matching pagination. Bates numbers or exhibit numbers carried onto every page of the translation so the two can be read side by side.
• A certificate per document naming the translator, the languages and the document, signed, and notarized if the court or local rule asks for it.
• No interpretation of meaning. Ambiguous phrases stay ambiguous, with a translator's note offering the possible readings rather than choosing one.

Discovery: translate in stages

Foreign-language discovery can run to thousands of pages, and the rules generally leave translation to the party who wants to read the documents. Translating everything is rarely sensible. A common approach is to have reviewers who read the language identify the relevant documents, order summary translations of those, and then certified translations of the ones that will be exhibits. Because translation costs are not recoverable as taxable costs in federal court, a staged plan protects the client's budget.

Messages, recordings and social media

A growing share of foreign-language evidence is informal: WhatsApp chats, voice notes, social-media posts. For written messages, export the chat rather than photographing the screen, so dates, times and senders are complete, and tell us which participants matter. Each message is translated with its timestamp and sender. Slang, abbreviations and emoji are translated for meaning with a note when a reading is uncertain. Audio needs a transcript in the original language first; the translation is then made from that transcript, and both are certified.

Immigration court

Immigration judges apply the same principle strictly: every foreign-language document filed needs an English translation and a signed translator's certification. Filing deadlines before hearings are fixed, so order translations early. See our immigration court page for the evidence that is usually filed.