Databases for Legal Translation
Glossaries and word lists are used by most legal translators, but they get awful results and create documents…
Should Legal Translators Only Translate into their Native Language?
The Native Language Principle is a longstanding rule followed in Western Europe and the Americas. It dictates that…
Translator Misconceptions about Legal Practice
Last week, I wrote about the misconceptions lawyers have about translation that only serve to undermine their own…
Land Ownership in Chinese Legal Translation
Chinese real estate translation readers are often confused by the strange term “land use rights.” As real estate…
Temporary Employment in Chinese Legal Translation
Documents describing the temporary employment operations of Chinese businesses are typically translated in such a way that they…
Luckin Coffee Fraud: How to Spot Fake China Companies
Congress passed a law this past week in response to the Luckin Coffee scandal titled “Holding Foreign Companies…
Legal Translation of Chinese Corporate Entities
Most law firms translate Chinese corporate entity names in a way that hides the true nature of the…
Youku’s Confusing Copyright Form Translation Failure
Aggrieved video copyright owners occasionally e-mail CBL Translations asking for assistance in translating Youku’s official, yet mistranslated, copyright…
Are lawyers bad Chinese translators?
As a lawyer, I am aware many practicing attorneys are prone to producing misleading Chinese translations. Most bilingual…
Back translating contracts: don’t put your head in the sand
Attorneys routinely request “back translations” of Chinese legal documents, and these usually fail to produce results. These attorneys…