Translators who have a background in law may choose to specialise in legal translation as an umbrella term, and then decide, for example to translate contracts only. In this way they will become au-fait with the legal jargon used, and the ways of expressing legal structures in a different language.

Translators may decide to work for a translation agency either in a freelance capacity, or less frequently, in an in-house position. Either way they will need to prove themselves to be accurate, efficient and trustworthy. Any translator having to translate contracts, or indeed any legal document, has a great responsibility, as a mistranslation or omission could lead to a law suit or cost huge amounts of money.

Some problems lie in the fact that no two countries have exactly the same legal system, thus the system-bound legal jargon will, often, not be directly translatable. Take the case of France which has a civil law system and England, which has a common law system. The concepts of the codification and institutions involved are by no means directly transferable. Some translators may choose to keep the original French term and explain what this represents in English- this, evidently, will add to the length of already bulky and dense texts, moreover the intended legal impact may also be diminished. The decision of what to do usually lies with the client, directly, or via a translation agency.

Quick and accurate legal translators are in demand, and could make all the difference when mounting a case or when preparing an important business deal. The text will not only have a functional purpose but will have legal standing as well. Cutting corners or underrating the importance of quality translation could have disastrous consequences. Without the necessary competency in drafting legal texts, familiarity with the language involved and knowledge of the legal systems the final product could end up as an incomprehensible and legally useless literal translation!

Professional legal translators should be able to bridge the gap not only between the two languages but also the differences in the legal systems so as to render a functional document. For each area of legal translation specific techniques are required. For example, in order to translate contracts a translator will not just refer to monolingual dictionaries (bilingual references are to be used with caution) he will draw on his contractual knowledge of the conventions for the culture and language in question.

Once a document has been translated it should be thoroughly proofread, if a translator is working alone they might ask a colleague with the same field of expertise to carefully check through their work. A translation agency may include a third party proofreading service in their translation fees, or offer this as an additional extra. Before translating the document the client may specify the subsequent intended use, which may also have bearing on the legal rendering in the text. But in all cases every finalised legal translation should be legible, comprehensible, consistent and above all error free!