English Lawyers in Spain – Lost In Translation

The Importance of Excellence in Legal Translations

The title of this piece is taken from an article in the Sentinella magazine. In the article (or advertising piece),  DeCotta Law Barrister, Sandra Wrightson* makes it clear to all readers the importance of precise translation when it comes to legal documents.

The article reads…

“One word can make a difference…it is very important to ensure that it is correctly translated if it is to give legal rights. Spanish Judges often call for proof of English law so a proper translation is essential when the court has to consider how they should interpret documents and evidence or certificates of English law.”

Bravo! Absolutely correct Sandra! Well said!

However, if that is correct, there are two questions we would like to ask you.

How is it that your firm, De Cotta McKenna & Santafé, presented and defended a mis-translated English Court Order in the Spanish Court on several occasions knowing it to be incorrect and what the consequences would be for the respondent?

As the Spanish judges call for proof of English law, is it not your job to clarify the situation rather than muddy the waters with a  document you know to be illegal?

We are interested to know…

For new readers to this blog you should know that Jon Sutton, a partner in DeCotta Law, wrote to the respondent in question and informed him of the content of an official sworn translation by one Barry True, fully five days before it was translated and stamped. That is visionary!

The Sworn Translation of the English Court Order was Incorrect

Let me enlighten you further. Two words that are commonly used in English legal documents are “Respondent” and “Petitioner”. “Demandado” y la “Demandante” in Spanish. In the English Court Order referred to above these words were transposed.  Giving the right to the ”Petitioner” rather than the “Respondent” to take a certain action will of course impact deeply upon any eventual outcome just as Sandra Wrightson said in her article. But this is exactly what DeCotta Law did…and got away with it.

DeCotta Law defended rights that were NOT given by the original Court Order in England and which they knew to be incorrect.

What did DeCotta Law get? A legal slap on the wrist for “incorrect procedure“. What happened to the hapless “Respondent”. He lost the case, all his property and part of his income along with it!

So Sandra Wrightson is right then!

Legal translations must be absolutely correct.

“One word can make a difference…it is very important to ensure that it is correctly translated if it is to give legal rights.”

But DeCotta Law, it seems are a law unto themselves! They can happily defend a “mis-translated”  English Court Order that has had far reaching and devastating effects on someone’s home and livelihood. And why not? They  got away with their “illegal” mis-translation in Court under what was termed  “incorrect procedure”.

The average man or woman in the street would call it fraud. In this case we are talking about two simple words so imagine what would happen if it was a complicated case. Do you think DeCotta Law would be up to the job?

Ethics, DeCotta Law and The Lesson Learned

So it would appear that what you have heard so many times before is true. You cannot trust a lawyer and ethics have no place in law. The lesson is contained in the Sandra Wrightson’s little article “The Importance of Excellence in Legal Translations”.

If you have a legal document that is “mis-translated” in your favour,  contact Jon Sutton or Sandra Wrightson of De Cotta McKenna & Santafé. They may be able to help you. If on the other hand you come up against DeCotta Law, triple ensure that you have a correct translation (preferably not translated by Barry True) so that you will not be deprived of your property, your wealth or your health.

DeCotta Law have got away with “improper procedure” in a small provincial Spanish Court. It would be interesting to know how many more such skeletons they have in their cupboard and it will be interesting to see how their procedures hold up in future.

* The article or advertising piece in Sentinella magazine has Sandra Wrightson’s biography appended to it so one can assume it has her approval. The article was  published in issue No.78 of Sentinella on page 24, February 2011.

Advertisement