Page 9 - A Practical Guide to Chapter11 Bankruptcy Publication Notice

Multinational Notice

In today’s global economy, it is common for who is a legal linguist, versed in legal terminology
businesses to operate in multiple countries. as well as English and the language of translation.
This means a larger geographic footprint for Also, it is important to obtain a certificate of true
companies and debtors. This can impact how and accurate translation from the translator upon
notice is provided to creditors and require completion of the work. This type of translation
translations into languages other than English. can cost more, but it is necessary to ensure
Even within the United States, the number of that crucial bankruptcy concepts are not lost in
people speaking Spanish continues to grow (there translation. Typically it is not recommended to
are now more than 41 million native Spanish translate the actual pleadings due to the risk of
speakers and another 11.6 million speaking it as a changing the meaning of key terminology as a
second language). Depending upon the nature result of translation. In addition, not all text should
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and geographic span of a debtor’s business, be translated, including:
notice translations can be a real consideration for
providing notice. • Case names
• Proper names – law firms, administrator, and
Translations
debtor
Depending upon the target audience’s • Contact information – addresses, phone
demographics, translations may be necessary numbers, email addresses
even if placing an ad in the United States or
Canada. Publication notices, claim forms, website • Website addresses
content and automated Interactive Voice Obtaining a certificate of true and accurate
Response (IVR) scripts for a debtor’s restructuring translation is sometimes not enough to ensure
hotline are the most common items that require correct translations. It is important for law firms
translations. and administrators to conduct their own quality

Extended Lead Times control of translated documents. Here are some
of the basic items to review:
Translating legal documents will always extend
the lead time that is required to prepare a • Specific dates – translated into the correct date
notice or other document for publication or and format
dissemination. The more uncommon the • Format – correct bolding, underlining, etc.
language for translation, the longer the lead
time. This is because there are fewer qualified • Font – consistent style and size
translators available who translate uncommon • Headers, footers, footnotes and number of
languages. Depending on the quantity and paragraphs –correct quantity
complexity of the documents, the time-frame for
translations can add a few business days or up to It is also important to make sure the correct
several weeks to the timeline. translated font is on any computer that will
open a translated document. Otherwise, upon
Review of Translated Publication Notices opening the translated document, the text will
Since bankruptcy publication notices contain be converted into another font, which may easily
specific legal concepts and terminology (debtor, change the characters and make a mess of the
creditor, etc.), it is important to enlist a translator translated text and/or formatting.

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