If you are going to work with interpreters for the very first time at a deposition, mediation or arbitration, or you ever wonder how to better work with interpreters, this article is for you.
There are extra procedures to be considered when using interpreters in legal proceedings.
In court, judges know the procedures well and can rule on interpreting-related issues accordingly. At deposition, mediation, or arbitration, however, the duty falls upon the deposing attorneys, the mediators, or the arbitrators.
This article discusses what happens when you work with interpreters at legal proceedings outside of courtrooms. It is not an instruction on how to retain interpreters. For the latter, please go to our posts dedicated to that topic:
What You Don’t Know about Interpretation: How Good Are Court Certified Interpreters?
1. Working with interpreters: Have a pre-session
Before the proceeding begins, take a few minutes to have a pre-session with all participants. Advise the parties and witnesses of the following:
- The interpreters are neutral and are obliged to interpret everything, good or bad.
- Speak one at a time. Do not talk over each other.
- Do not talk too fast. Make frequent pauses for the interpreters.
- Do not seek the interpreters’ opinions, advice or comments.
- Do not chitchat or have side conversation with the interpreters.
- Speak in first person. Face the attorney/mediator/arbitrator as if the interpreters were not present.
The pre-session can be extremely helpful. It ensures everyone understands what the interpreters’ role is, what to expect of the interpreters, and what the interpreters expect of them. In particular,
1) It gives the witness and the parties a heads-up so that they can appropriately pace their statements.
Without such an understanding, witnesses tend to give long and incoherent utterances, especially when they are nervous or emotional. Then interpreters have to interject to request a pause, which in turn may cause the witnesses to lose their train of thought.
In order to avoid undue disruptions, it is best to advise the witnesses or parties early on to pace themselves and make frequent pauses for the interpreters.
2) It helps to avoid awkward situations which are caused by witnesses viewing interpreters as their confidants. Such scenarios may invite drama to the proceeding, or worse, cause damage to a party’s case.
2. Have the interpreters sworn in
Interpreters should be sworn in before starting to provide services. In court proceedings, the interpreters’ oath is administered by the court clerk. At deposition, the oath is administered by the court reporter. At mediation and arbitration, the oath may be administered by the mediators/arbitrators.
Here is an example of the interpreters’ oath (for Mandarin interpreters):
“Do you solemnly swear under penalties of perjury that you will interpret everything from English to Mandarin and from Mandarin to English completely and accurately to the best of your ability, without knowingly disclose any confidential information?”
The interpreters would then give an affirmative answer and put their names and qualifications on the record (e.g., “Yes, I do. For the record, John Doe, court certified Mandarin interpreter”).
3. Remember: Pause for interpreters
The rules listed in the pre-session also apply to attorneys, mediators and arbitrators.
For attorneys at deposition, particularly when objections are being raised, they should allow interpreters time to interpret. Some interpreters switch to simultaneous interpretation during a heated argument, but it is not a good idea for two reasons. First, talking concurrently can render the recording unintelligible. Second, simultaneous interpretation is not as accurate as consecutive interpretation. The best practice is for attorneys to always allow interpreters time to interpret consecutively.
If you are a mediator or arbitrator, please refrain from talking for a prolonged period of time. Do not speak for several minutes non-stop and then ask the interpreter to “just interpret the last question.”
The interpreters have an obligation to interpret everything completely and accurately. Your understanding of the interpreter’s role is critical, and your cooperation is essential for an optimal outcome of the interpreted session.
4. Grant interpreters’ requests
Although interpreters should be as non-obtrusive as possible, at times they do need to interject themselves into the proceedings by making requests on their own behalf.
Such requests are commonly raised during interpretation when interpreters cannot effectively do their job. Interpreters are obliged to speak up when there are impediments to their performance.
Interpreters’ requests are addressed by judge in court proceedings. In the absence of judge, the requests should be handled by the deposing attorney at deposition, and by the mediator or arbitrator at mediation or arbitration.
DO NOT simply ignore the interpreters’ requests — they cannot interpret what they did not hear or did not understand.
The following table lists the types of interpreters’ requests and the common ways to address them.
| The Interpreter Requests | Why | How to Address |
|---|---|---|
| The speaker slow down | The speaker was talking too fast. | [To the speaker] Please slow down so the interpreters can keep up. |
| The speaker speak up | The speaker was talking too softly. | [To the speaker] Please speak loud (or speak into the microphone) so the interpreters can hear. |
| The participants talk one at a time | More than one person was talking at the same time. | [To all participants] Please speak one at a time. |
| A pause | The speaker was talking for an extended period of time without stopping. | [To the interpreter] Yes, you may. |
| A repetition | The interpreter did not hear clearly. | [To the interpreter] Yes, you may. |
| A clarification | An expression used was vague or ambiguous. | [To the interpreter] Yes, you may. |
| A paraphrase | An expression used was unfamiliar to the interpreter. | [To the interpreter] Yes, you may. |
| Time for consulting a dictionary | An expression used was unfamiliar to the interpreter. | [To the interpreter] Yes, you may. |
| A break | Interpreter was experiencing significant fatigue. | [To the interpreter] Yes, you may. |
Below is a sample scenario from a deposition. Pay attention to how the interpreter’s request was made and how it was addressed.
- Deposing Attorney: What was in the trash bag?
- Interpreter: [interpreted the attorney’s question in Mandarin]
- Witness: [said something in Mandarin]
- Interpreter: May the interpreter request a clarification?
- Deposing Attorney: Yes, you may.
- Interpreter: [converse with the witness in Mandarin to clarify a word the witness had just used] [after clarification] That was not a trash bag. That was a device to trap birds.
