TOOLS FOR LEGAL TRANSLATORS

What are the best app that a legal translator should know?

Legal translation is a specialized field that requires precision and accuracy, as even minor errors can have significant legal implications. There are several translation tools and resources that can assist legal translators in their work. Here are some of the top translation tools for legal translators:

CAT (Computer-Assisted Translation) Tools:
SDL Trados: A popular CAT tool that offers translation memory, terminology management, and other features to enhance translation consistency and efficiency.
MemoQ: Another CAT tool with features for translation memory, terminology management, and project management, designed to streamline legal translation projects.
DeepL:
A neural machine translation tool that is known for its high-quality translations. While it may not be as specialized as some other tools, it can be useful for getting the gist of a document.
Wordfast:
Another CAT tool designed for legal translators, Wordfast offers translation memory and terminology management features.
MultiTerm:
A terminology management tool by SDL that can be integrated with other CAT tools to help maintain consistency in legal terminology.
Legal Dictionaries:
Online legal dictionaries, such as Westlaw, Black's Law Dictionary, and Oxford Law Dictionary, can be invaluable resources for legal translators.
Alignment Tools:
Tools like LFAlign and WinAlign can help align source and target texts for building translation memories.
Terminology Databases:
Maintain your own glossaries and terminology databases specific to your legal specialization. Tools like Excel or dedicated terminology management software can help with this.
Machine Translation Post-Editing (MTPE):
Sometimes, using machine translation followed by human post-editing can be a cost-effective and efficient approach for legal translation.
OCR (Optical Character Recognition) Software:
For translating scanned documents or PDFs, OCR software like ABBYY FineReader can help convert printed text into editable content.
Legal Document Management Systems:
Tools like Relativity and NetDocuments are designed to help legal professionals manage and translate legal documents efficiently.
Legal Corpus and Legal Language Resources:
Academic and institutional databases may offer specialized legal corpora that can be valuable for legal translators.
Collaborative Translation Platforms:
Tools like Smartcat and Memsource offer collaboration features, which can be especially useful for legal translation teams.
Translation Quality Assessment Tools:
Tools like Xbench and Verifika can help assess the quality of translations and ensure they meet industry standards.
When using these tools, it's essential to understand the specific requirements and regulations in the legal field of the source and target languages. Additionally, the quality of the final translation often depends on the translator's expertise and knowledge of legal terminology and concepts. These tools can assist in the process, but they should not replace the critical role of a skilled legal translator.

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