Profile
Hi! My name’s Rob Lunn. I’m a legal translator specialising in commercial law and the Spanish legal system.
Based in Barcelona, I’ve been a full-time registered freelancer since 2008.
My qualifications include an MA in Legal Translation from City University of London and a Diploma in Translation from the Chartered Institute of Linguists.
In addition to being a member of various professional associations, I currently serve as secretary on the council of the association Mediterranean Editors and Translators.
I’m also author of the book “A Systematic Approach to Translating Contracts into English”.
My mission is to provide you with hassle-free, expert legal translations from Spanish and Catalan into UK English.
I also aim to — in my corner of the world at least — improve the standard, practice and profile of legal translation, one translation at a time, by:
✔ researching translations extensively
✔ learning more about the law and translation
✔ sharing what I learn with colleagues and clients
Qualifications
- MA in Legal Translation (distinction) from City, University of London. Master’s degree with modules on Spanish and English law, legal translation, and linguistics
- DipTrans (IoLET) Spanish into English. Diploma in Translation from the Chartered Institute of Linguists. Internationally recognised qualification that aims to be “a benchmark of professional standards” in the translation industry
- Bachelor of Business (B.Bus) degree (majoring in macro-economics and HRM) from Queensland University of Technology
Professional associations
- Member no. 43006 of the Chartered Institute of Linguists. Chartered Linguist. Spanish and Catalan into English
- Member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (MITI)
- Member of Mediterranean Editors and Translators (MET) since 2009, serving as secretary on MET’s council from 2018 to 2022
- Member of the Association of Professional Translators and Interpreters of Catalonia
Languages
- Native English speaker from Australia. I translate into UK English
- Spanish DELE Superior (2001). Advanced Diploma in Spanish as a Foreign Language from the Instituto Cervantes. CEFR level C2, mastery or proficiency
- Catalan sufficiency certificate (2016) from the Consorci Per a la Normalització Lingüística. CEFR level C1, effective operational proficiency or advanced
I am fluent in Spanish and Catalan, having lived in Spain since 1999 and studied and used both languages extensively since then.
Publications
“A Systematic Approach to Translating Contracts into English”, e-book (2017)
“Louisiana Civil Code as a source of English translations for Spanish legal terms”, dissertation for my MA in Legal Translation (2012)
Presentations
“Understanding the civil law notary system and how to translate key notary terms into English”, presentation given at the METM18 conference in Girona, Spain (2018)
“A Systematic Approach to Translating Contracts into English”, webinar given for eCPD Webinars (2018)
“A Systematic Approach to Translating Contracts into English”, three-hour workshop given at the METM16 and METM17 conferences in Tarragona, Spain (2016) and Brescia, Italy (2017)
“Translating Contracts: Tips and Techniques”, two one-hour webinars for the ITI Spanish Network (2016)
“Translating Contracts with Coherence and Confidence”, presentation given at the METM15 conference in Coimbra, Portugal (2015)