This week has a “book theme”, and each day I’ll be featuring a different book that might interest readers.

Today I’d like to tell you about a volume published in 2013 – Legal Translation in Context: Professional Issues and Prospects, edited by Anabel Borja Albi and Fernando Prieto Ramos.

From the outset, I have to say that in my opinion this is a must-have for anyone working in or interested in the field. It is a collection of 14 chapters and an introduction by the editors, and the contributing authors are all leading scholars. So you might expect a heavy and dusty volume. Not at all! I personally gobbled it up like a best-seller. Both in format – paperback, 1.5 cm thick 😉 – and in style, it is truly accessible to all.

Contents

Introduction – Legal Translation: The State of Affairs

Part 1 – Legal Translation in the Private Sector

• 1. Comparative Law for Translation: The Key to Successful Mediation between Legal Systems
• 2. Certified Translators in Europe and the Americas: Accreditation Practices and Challenges
• 3. Freelance Translation for Multinational Corporations and Law Firms
• 4. Challenges of the Freelance Legal Translator: Lifelong Learning, Ethics and Other Key Professional Issues

Part 2 – Legal Translation for National Public Institutions

• 5. Translating for Domestic Courts in Multicultural Regions: Issues and New Developments in Europe and the 
United States of America
• 6. Translating for the Police, Prosecutors and Courts: The Case of English Letters of Request
• 7. Translating for Government Departments: The Case of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Co-Operation
• 8. Translating vs Co-Drafting Law in Multilingual Countries: Beyond the Canadian Odyssey

Part 3 – Legal Translation at International Organizations

• 9. The Work of Lawyer–Linguists in the EU Institutions
• 10. Legal Translation at the United Nations
• 11 Translation at the International Criminal Court
• 12. Legal Translation at INTERPOL
• 13. Legal Translation at the World Trade Organization
• 14. Technology at the Service of Specialized Translators at International Organizations

Reviews

“‘Legal Translation in Context’ is a comprehensive, informative and highly readable survey of current practice in all areas of legal translation. It can be readily recommended to students, trainers and practitioners.” (Linguistica Antverpiensia 2013/12)

Review by Fabrizio Megale published in issue 26 of Parallèles.

Review by Liese Katschinka, President of EULITA.

Review by Susan Lilley, London Metropolitan University and City University, published in The Journal of Specialised Translation.

Review by Lucja Biel, University of Warsaw, published in the International Journal for the Semiotics of Law.

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Further information can be obtained from the publishers, Peter Lang, here.