Legal interpreting services

We offer consecutive interpreting services in the most common language combinations at any location desired by the client.

Due to their knowledge of the legal content at issue, our professional and socially competent interpreters are reliable and important partners in providing interpretation services during

  • contractual negotiations
  • conciliation procedures
  • mediation
  • notarisations
  • arbitration proceedings
  • interviews and examination hearings
  • M&A transactions
  • presentations

The right type of interpreting service for your event

Time-delayed interpreting

The speaker speaks while the interpreter takes notes. The spoken passages are interpreted with a time delay, which means that about twice as much time is required.

Consecutive interpreting

Following or alternating with the speaker, the interpreter interprets the respective passage into the target language.

Negotiations interpreting

In negotiations interpreting, the interpreter actively uses two languages, e.g. in court or during examination hearings.

Simultaneous interpreting

The speaker speaks while the interpreter interprets simultaneously. This approach saves a lot of time, but aside from the appropriate training also requires the highest level of concentration. For longer events, two interpreters usually alternate approx. every 20-30 minutes. From a technical point of view, we differentiate the following types of assignments:

Conferences & conventions

At large events, the interpreter interprets from a soundproof booth. This requires the appropriate technology for audio transmission as well as high-quality headphones for the listeners.

Guided tours

For mobile or smaller events a guided tour system is used. The interpreter speaks into a microphone. The signals are transmitted to the headphones of the listeners.

Whispered interpreting

In this specialised approach, the interpreter sits between or behind at most two listeners and softly interprets to them. This method does not require any technical aids.

LT practical example

Interpreting of a meeting between a Swiss authority and an international company

For purposes of clarifying corporate law issues, a meeting is convened between a Swiss authority and a globally active company. As the representatives of the company do not speak German and those of the authority do not speak English perfectly, the involvement of an interpreter is requested. The very subject-specific, complex facts are interpreted from German into English and, occasionally, also from English into German.

Support by an interpreter during a conciliation proceeding

A client refuses to pay a monetary claim and – due to a lack of sufficient knowledge of French – wants to be accompanied by an interpreter for the proceeding before a conciliation authority in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. The client wants to ensure that she can easily follow the proceeding and that she can formulate her own statements in German. The interpreter translates the entire proceeding into the two languages.

Interpreting of witness hearings at court

In the context of a contractual dispute, witnesses are questioned in a series of court hearings. As several of the witnesses are Italian-speaking and do not know German, which is the language of the Court, an interpreter is present at the hearings to translate the witnesses' statements into German for the Court. The same interpreter also translates the Court's questions from German into Italian.

Translation and interpreting services in the context of a divorce proceeding

In connection with a divorce proceeding, various documents related to the proceeding are translated from French into German for comprehension purposes. For the trial itself, the party that has only limited knowledge of the French language and her attorney are accompanied by an interpreter. As this is a personal interpreter of one of the parties and it is important not to disturb the other persons present, the technique of so-called whispered interpreting (chuchotage) is used. No technical aids are used for this purpose.

Interpreting in the context of a marriage preparation procedure

For the marriage preparation procedure at a civil registry office in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, the authority requires the Spanish bride to attend with an interpreter. Our interpreter accompanies the bride and groom to the authority and interprets the legal information provided by the civil registrar and the information provided by the bride consecutively into the respective native languages.

Association-internal continuing education with German- and French-speaking participants

An association active throughout Switzerland organises a two-day continuing education event. The event will be conducted in German by the association leadership. Some of the participants are French-speaking, which is why the event will be interpreted. Our two interpreters translate the German contributions into French simultaneously using a personal guide system and alternating every half hour. The questions and contributions of the French-speaking participants are translated by the interpreters into German.

Translation of a marriage and inheritance contract with subsequent interpreting at the notarisation ceremony

An English mother tongue couple concludes a marriage and inheritance contract in French and has it notarised by a notary public in the Canton of Fribourg. In order to ensure that the parties understand the contents of the contract and to comply with the requirements of notarial law, LT Lawtank translates the French contract into English and subsequently the same legal translator then acts as an interpreter in French and English during the notarisation ceremony held at the notary's offices.

Series of lectures over several days

As part of various management training sessions for a public sector enterprise, LT Lawtank was charged with arranging interpreting for a series of lectures held over several days.

Factory inspection

LT Lawtank was appointed to interpret during a factory visit to a medium-sized business by an interested buyer.

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