The increase in international litigation and investigations means that more and more e-discovery projects now include foreign language data. Even when document collection takes place exclusively in the United States, it is not uncommon to find a number of foreign language documents included in the mix of potentially responsive data. Multilingual documents add a layer of complexity to e-discovery projects, and when not properly handled can increase costs substantially.

Most e-discovery and litigation support service providers are not really equipped to handle foreign language data, and those that are rarely have the linguistic expertise and translation tools to process, review, and translate the relevant documents into English in an efficient and cost-effective way. Relying on multilingual attorneys to review all the foreign language documents can be prohibitively expensive; obtaining word-for-word translations of all the documents is more expensive still. And trying to decipher hundreds of pages of machine translated text is not only time-consuming (and therefore expensive) but also yields inaccurate results since the quality of most machine translations is still quite poor.

The ideal solution is to integrate professional language services into the e-discovery workflow, by partnering with a company that offers legal translation services as well as e-discovery support. Trained linguists working in tandem with the e-discovery team can help identify, process, and review foreign language documents, and reduce the document collection so that only relevant and responsive documents are translated. They can help ensure that documents are correctly identified by language and that keyword searches are performed efficiently. For example, when performing keyword searches on French documents collected during an FCPA investigation, it’s not enough to simply translate search terms like “bribe” and “government official” into French. A smart search will include other French words and expressions with similar meanings. An interactive process that includes both translators and the case team can help identify all relevant documents, and avoid unnecessary translations.

To sum up, the best approach to multilingual e-discovery is a proactive one: instead of waiting for the e-discovery process to take its course and then dealing with foreign language documents, partner with a solution provider that has both e-discovery expertise as well as translation expertise.  This will help reduce the number of documents that ultimately need to be translated, and also help you avoid numerous headaches along the way.

For information on our foreign language e-discovery services, please click here.

In our increasingly international business environment, cross-border litigation is becoming far more common, and that means the need for litigation translation is greater than ever before. The recent sparring between Samsung and Apple is a reminder that high-stakes matters often involve companies based in different countries, speaking different languages. Litigation translation services including document translation, document sifting/review, and interpretation can assist clients during discovery and may prove essential in winning your case.

During the discovery phase of an international lawsuit, hundreds, if not thousands, of foreign-language documents are gathered that may be relevant to your case. The cost for translating every document may prove prohibitive. One litigation translation service that might prove helpful is document sifting, where an expert translator sifts through these documents on-site or online, filtering and prioritizing the documents based on the criteria you provide. The translators can also quickly summarize key documents. Document sifting can help you save both time and money by ensuring that only those documents that you really need are translated.

It’s important to keep in mind that if documents translated for litigation will need to be submitted in court, it is necessary to obtain a certified translation, and to check to see if the court has any special requirements regarding the certification. In the U.S., a standard certification will usually suffice. But for courts overseas, a notarized or apostille certification may be required.