Strategies For Serving Clients Who Speak Another Language
Bridging the communication gap can be relatively straightforward.
Lawyers are often called upon to serve all kinds of clients, including ones who speak a language that the attorney does not. This can create difficulties during attorney-client communications, and some clients prefer to have a lawyer who speaks their language so it is easier for the client and the attorney to communicate. However, by keeping a few things in mind, it can be easier to serve clients who speak a different language.
The first time I served a client that did not speak English was about 10 years ago when I was working at a midsize shop. Our client spoke Mandarin, and we usually used Google Translate to communicate back and forth with this client. Sometimes, a family member of the client who knew English and Mandarin would facilitate communications, but this was not possible during all of our communications. At a critical stage of the representation, the partner asked our office manager to have a three-page summary of the case translated into Mandarin so we could get convey a detailed case summary to the client and receive proper approval for a given course of action.
The office manager got a fancy translation service to provide a certified translation, and the translation came back in a glossy package. The translation service ended up charging our firm over $1,000 to translate several pages of text! The partner was furious, and we never formally translated anything through that service again.
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Learning from this initial experience, whenever, later in my career, I needed to have conversations with someone who did not have a strong grasp of English, I inquired if there was someone in the client’s life who could act as a translator. Of course, when it came to sensitive attorney-client matters, I made sure that the translator was trusted and that there would not be any issues with having a third-party translate. In the vast majority of situations, having a family member translate was the most efficient way to ensure that the client had all of the information necessary to evaluate matters.
In certain instances, it is also fine to use Google Translate or another similar method to send messages to a client who does not have a solid grasp of English. From my own experiences, Google Translate has come a long way since I first started using it over a decade ago for legal matters. Nevertheless, lawyers need to be aware that Google Translate or other similar applications are often better used for simple communications rather than discussing complex matters about a case.
For instance, Google Translate is usually fine to help schedule a deposition or a court appearance with a client. Both the attorney and client can usually use Google Translate to discuss when an event in a case will occur and whether the client has a conflict that may prevent the client from appearing at the event. However, if a lawyer is discussing the benefits and disadvantages of pursuing a given strategy in a case, it might not be best to use Google Translate since matters can definitely be “lost in translation” as it were when using such applications.
In certain instances, it might be necessary to engage more formal translation services in order to facilitate effective communications between the lawyer and a client. In the right circumstances, using such services can be cost-effective, and much more affordable than the service my law firm used to translate a written summary about a decade ago. A variety of translation services permit translators to be patched into phone calls so that the translator can seamlessly translate back and forth between the client and attorney. Most translation services charge by how long such phone calls last, so it is easy to keep costs down by being more efficient in conversing with a client.
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All told, lawyers should not shy away from serving clients who speak another language, and some of my best clients have been individuals who speak English as a second language. With a few strategies in mind, it can be relatively easy to serve clients who do not speak English well.
Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.
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