Every language professional working between Common Law and Civil Law countries knows the broad brushstrokes differences between both legal traditions. They all know, for example, that Common Law is judge-made law while Civil Law is codified or that Common Law is characterized by the doctrine of precedent while precedent is not (necessarily always) binding…
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Every seasoned legal translator knows that understanding the differences between their source and target languages is the secret ingredient in the exceptional translation sauce. Experienced legal translators know what first, second, and third instance courts are called in both legal systems, why some but not all judges are called justices, why words like “magistrate” may…
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I. A Little Recap Contrary to popular belief, literality is never the right choice in legal translation. While fidelity to source is indeed the guiding principle when translating all things law, fidelity is better achieved by other means, and none of those means involve word-for-word or literal translation. In my last post, I argued…
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I. The Case for Plain Language In “The Public Speaks, Again: An International Study of Legal Communication” published in the University of Arkansas Little Rock Law Review (2017), Law Professor Chris Trudeau and co-author Christine Cawthorne took a look at the public’s preferences for legal communication across five major English-speaking countries (the U.S., England, Canada,…
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We’re happy to announce that the American Translators Association’s Law Division is launching a new blog on legal translation and Paula will be one of its authors. ATA Law is where Paula will explore the complexities of legal language, vocabulary, and translation. Whether you’re a client and want to improve your legal writing skills or…
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February’s Book of the Month is Marking Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges by Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016, and Bryan Garner, American lawyer, lexicographer, and teacher who is also the editor of Black’s Law Dictionary. The book purports to…
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January’s Book of Month is Introduccion al Common Law by Fernando Cuñado de Castro and Ruth Gámez González (and, yes, I do realize I’m publishing this post in March, but better late than never). If you read in Spanish and are interested in learning about Common Law in the UK and US compared to Civil…
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This week’s word of the week is caution, and no, I don’t mean a warning or admonition. I stumbled upon this term in the context of loans and securities. And while I cannot quote context for confidentiality reasons, I can tell you that it found its way to my computer via a client in England.…
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Under the common law tradition, when accomplishing a specific goal is not entirely up to the promising party, the parties may agree that the promisor use reasonable efforts, or some other efforts standard, to accomplish that goal. In such cases, the contract will only impose an efforts standard in connection to one or more specific…
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I know, I know, “to the extent that” is four words, not one. But the question of what “to the extent that” means in warranty claims has come up in court and merits consideration. The Case The case is Zayo Group v Ainger. The Court is the England and Wales High Court (Commercial Court). The…
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