You may be used to translating documents as a freelancer but becoming a professional legal translator requires an exceptional skillset.
Regular team meeting at Investindo
In the present day, it is common to see bilingual people doing a side hustle as a freelance translator or even, on a more serious note, opening up a translation agency as their business, the scope of which ranges from general documents such as articles to legal documents. More often than not, the price of service they offer seems very tempting for potential customers. You, however, must be aware of the little-known fact that being an ordinary translator (re: freelancer) does not equal to being a professional and seasoned one. Here at Investindo, the skills required from professional legal translators are, notably, of the highest guaranteed quality in the legal industry.
Hired from a wide array of backgrounds – law, language and literature, or even economics – PT Trimars Perkasa Abadi (Investindo) has always put the best efforts into training these emerging and potential individuals to get familiarized with the lawyers’ “lingo” typically used in the legal world. It is highly likely for you to assume that not much training would be needed if you have prior experiences in translation but, unexpectedly, that is far from the truth.
As mentioned above, to provide a high-quality legal translation, translators would be required to be adept in using legalese and lawyers’ lingo. To that end, Investindo has compiled a vast range of legal jargons and terminologies in its exclusive glossary and translation guideline forming one of the most valuable references and materials for translators during their early training days. Not one for static growth, Investindo’s team of translators and reviewers would regularly update the terms in their glossary and translation guidelines in line with the development of Indonesian laws and regulations.
The said training materials are made available by the company and might not seem like rocket science. During the early training days, it would be very much adequate to refer to those only. However, the rest of the work would require the diligence of the translators, and any room for improvement is yet to be explored and worked on by themselves.
On a separate note, there is a great deal of benefits for the translators during their training days to get familiarized with a diverse type of legal documents. Translators at Investindo are expected to comprehend the general content and purpose of each document to be able to translate them to the clients’ satisfaction. There is a vast difference between translating, for example, a facility agreement and translating an articles of association.
In the case of translating a facility agreement, our professional legal translators have been trained to have a greater level of understanding of the usual boilerplates found in such document. During training days, the translators are also taught about how a loan facility is made available under a facility agreement to better understand the essence of the document and to be able to translate it in a coherent and accurate manner.
Meanwhile, in the case of translating an Articles of Association, it is crucial to thoroughly peruse the Indonesian Company Law (Law No. 40 of 2007) and comprehend the process of the establishment of a limited liability company to get better knowledge on what provisions are usually laid out in a document such as an articles of association. Hence, a good and precise translation. It is a significant skill that translators at Investindo acquire over time – to know and understand the laws and regulations like the back of their hands.
To work as a translator is one thing, but to work as a professional legal translator who is proficient at grasping the cornerstone of legal knowledge is another thing. It is at this point of time when most trainees find a hard time as it requires hard work and an endless learning process. Accordingly, most senior translators at Investindo have had the same level of understanding of legal knowledge as that of a law undergraduate, even if they do not come from a legal background.
Nevertheless, Investindo is not a one man’s work. Behind the translators are reviewers who are prepared and ready to improve the translation drafts, if necessary. The reviewers at Investindo are equipped with extensive legal knowledge and therefore, could definitely make use of any room for improvement of such drafts.
The revised drafts could then become a useful reference for the translators-in-training because they would be able to learn from the revisions and refrain from making the same “mistakes”. Alas, not every translator takes these reviews or revisions the way they are intended. For some, they get discouraged by the amount of revisions due to the mistakes commonly made at the early training days. For some others, the revisions made by the reviewers could nurture their growth and become the secret ingredient towards their improvement.
On that account, it is glaringly obvious that Investindo only retains and works with translators of the highest merit. Those who continue to work at Investindo have gained the extensive legal knowledge needed to translate any types of legal documents without a hitch. It is of no doubt that the training days at Investindo have been proven to be effective and constructive in molding the finest legal translators.
