Translation of legal documents covers many critical topics, from lawsuits to important business deals. In these scenarios, the outcome can significantly impact the parties involved. As such, mistakes in translations of legal documents can have severe consequences. In fact, these errors in legal document translations are costly and unacceptable—you must get certified UK translations to mitigate the risk of making errors.

This article focuses on the mistakes in translations of legal documents, with a particular focus on business translations. We discuss some real-world examples and four common causes, helping you avoid errors in your critical legal paperwork.

Why do Businesses Need Legal Translations?

Since global business is mainstream, translations of legal documents have become an integral part of the business. Brands today need to deal with an entire collection of contracts. These contracts can be with employees, investors, partners, suppliers or partners. Translating contracts and paperwork using a certified UK translations service helps streamline communications and encourage business growth.

However, the translation of legal documents comes with significant responsibility, especially when required in business deals. Massive amounts of money are on the line, with contracts becoming void due to mistakes in translation. Any misinterpretations or errors in translation can also result in lawsuits, potentially costing businesses even more money.

Examples of Translation Mistakes in Legal Documents

There are many prominent examples of mistakes in translations of legal documents. One significant example involves a South Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) deal. In 2011, South Korea failed to secure an FTA deal with the EU due to more than 207 mistakes in the translation of legal documents. This goes to show the importance of high-quality legal translations.

Another key example of mistakes in legal translation is terms and conditions. Terms and conditions are created to protect businesses when they face legal disputes, but they must be translated correctly. A mistake could result in supplier issues, customer disputes and other operational problems, potentially leading to drawn-out court causes that soon become expensive. Contacts can also become void when you fail to translate legal documents correctly.

From these examples, it is clear to see by certified UK translations are crucial for all types of legal documents. You must employ professional translation services that can deliver 100% accurate translations to protect your business and your finances.

Common Causes of Legal Translation Mistakes

One might believe professional translations of legal documents are only necessary for the courtroom. However, this isn’t the case! Every business operating in foreign markets must rely on certified UK translations. This enables them to remain compliant with the law and protect themselves from legal issues by avoiding translator errors.

To this end, we have listed a few mistakes that businesses make in the translation of legal documents. Highlighting them will help you avoid them when you assign your legal documents to a professional translation services provider.

1. Seeing Legal Translation as the Last Step

Legal document translations are more manageable when you plan. This is especially true if the original documents are self-produced before translation. You must first standardise the language and avoid ambiguous terminology to help reduce the risk of complications down the line.

In the globalised economy, very few businesses need a translation of legal documents just once. So, it makes sense to plan for the future by getting professional translation services from day one. This can help to speed up the translation process and reduce future costs. To this end, you require a certified UK translation service you can trust.

2. Not Working with a Professional Translation Agency

Legal document translations are a balancing act, ensuring your documents are understandable while keeping their intended meaning. For this reason, it is best to work with a professional legal translation services provider. They can help you create documents primed for translation and then use modern methods and technologies to ensure accurate results.

One of the tools translation agencies use are language glossaries. These glossaries contain all correctly translated legal terms for this and other certified UK translations. When it comes to the translation of legal documents, these already-saved phrases help with accuracy and efficiency.

Language service providers also use translation memories. A translation memory is a database that stores your projects. It can help you save time when translating similar sections of text, which is crucial for time-sensitive legal documents. They also help with consistency, ensuring every document reads as if created by your organisation alone.

3. Using Literal Translation

Literal translations are when you substitute words and phrases directly without paying attention to context or meaning. This works for some basic translations but not for translations of legal documents. Without paying attention to the context, errors will likely creep in. Sometimes, a sentence directly translated into another language has an entirely different meaning!

The accurate translation of legal materials heavily depends on the legal knowledge of the translator, along with their linguistic expertise. Only skilled linguists with legal backgrounds can translate the meaning and message. Investing in certified UK translations ensures your translator has the necessary legal knowledge required to produce accurate results.

However, remember that law covers a vast area, so you must find the right legal field to translate legal documents. This is one of the key factors to consider when hiring a certified translation service. If seeking business translation services, you will need professional legal translation services with corporate and labour law experience.

4. Using Only Machine Translation

Machines can conveniently convert snippets of text in seconds. This type of translation has its advantages in some situations, but it has no benefit in the translation of legal materials. Machines cannot consider the complexities and nuances of legal content, leaving your translations of legal documents unprofessional and full of errors.

Legal documents require high-quality certified UK translation with a clear level of understanding. This is why you will need business translation services. These services come with human linguistic experts that can cut through the nuance, delivering accurate legal translations.

Legal Translations Your Business Can Trust

Translations of legal documents are one of the most demanding translation niches, and mistakes could result in high costs and lawsuits. This is why it is crucial to enlist the help of a language services provider. Professional agencies ensure your translation of legal paperwork is 100% error-free, so there are no legal repercussions.

If your need a reliable legal translation for your business, we can help! Over the years, Renaissance Translations has served many legal firms in the UK and abroad. Our professional translators specialise in legal translations, which is one reason our legal translation services have never been rejected. If there are any mistakes, our professional indemnity insurance keeps you covered.

Your partnership with Renaissance Translations also comes with professional memberships such as ATC, so you can rest assured that you’re in safe hands. If you need to discuss your legal or certified UK translation project, please get in touch with us with your project details. Our team is ready to help you!