How to translate de una parte and de otra parte into English (contract translation tip 9)
How should you translate into English the terms de una parte and de otra parte that you find at the start of Spanish contracts?...
How to translate the start of a Spanish contract into English
Translating the introductory clauses of Spanish contracts into English can be confusing — a bit like trying to fit square pegs into round holes,...
Using models for translating contracts (quick tip 9)
Translating a document requires knowing what it looks like in the target language, especially in a format-heavy genre like contracts. And knowing what the...
Quick tip for translating contracts (8): use only useful legalese (and when to use “hereby”)
While most contract drafting guides suggest we avoid legalese, they do usually see a point to what you could call “useful legalese”. Hereby Take...
Resources for translating contracts (6): some tips for improving Spanish-to-English legal translation
This straight-to-the-point paper by Daniel Kaplan has some useful tips for translating contracts. 1. False friends Kaplan points out a couple of false friends...
Quick tip for translating contracts (7): mainly call contracts agreements
When translating a contract, it can be surprisingly difficult to work out what to call it in English. You’d think that would be easy...
Quick tip for translating contracts (6): don’t use word–numeral doublets
Just about any contract drafting or legal style guide you pick up will tell you to avoid using word–numeral doublets: E.g., instead of: He...
Quick tip for translating contracts (5): build a clause library
Firstly, what is a clause library? Basically just a place (e.g., an Excel file) where you can store your preferred translations for typical clauses...
Quick tip for translating contracts (4): distinguish between formulaic language and contract information
Distinguishing between formulaic language and contract information is, I believe, the key to translating contracts and other formal legal documents. The only thing that...
Quick tip for translating contracts (3): what tense where
In Basic Legal Drafting, Anne Rutledge makes a useful distinction between promissory and descriptive language: A promissory statement is one that “articulates a promise”...
Quick tip for translating contracts (2): don’t use “undertakes to”
According to Tiffany Kemp in her book Essential Contract Drafting Skills (spoken about here), we shouldn’t use “undertakes to” because it’s legalese with no...
Quick tip for translating contracts (1): name the parties more often in English (and a point on ambiguity)
As noted in this resource I mentioned here the other day, Spanish contracts tend to use pronouns where English usually just repeats the party...
