The Interpreter in Civil Depositions (Spanish/English)

When
10am to 1pm PDT, Oct. 7, 2023

The National Center for Interpretation is pleased to announce a webinar designed for Spanish/English interpreters!

CEUs are approved for the ATA, CA, OR, and TX. NCI is a pre-approved provider of CEUs for AZ, CO, FL, KY, OK, PA, and TN. 

A deposition is typically in the realm of civil law. It might seem to be less stressful for the legal interpreter, since it is not in open court and there is no judge or jury. Civil depositions, however, are often far from being less stressful, and they can be quite challenging for the interpreter. The subject matter is often controversial and emotionally fraught: a car accident, a slip and fall, medical malpractice, divorce matters, financial disputes, investment issues, accounting disagreements, conflicts in maritime law, contractual disputes, copyright infringements and so on.

Adding to these emotional complications is another factor: some lawyers have a bare colloquial or even an anecdotal knowledge of a given language, and they are always ready to challenge an interpretation rendered by a professional. This can happen particularly when the interpretation is something different from what was expected by the attorney, or when counsel thinks he/she is losing the case, thus he/she has to resort to whatever may help him/her, in their belief. What’s the interpreter to do when this situation arises, which some have called a case of “let’s use the interpreter for target practice”?

In this workshop we will review and discuss:

  • Real-life scenarios and case studies
  • Keeping your cool when emotions runs high
  • Typical civil deposition scenarios (such as personal injury, vehicular accident, contractual disputes, medical malpractice and actions for damages)
  • Boilerplate attorney language translated into Spanish
  • Specialized bilingual vocabulary
  • How to handle spurious objections to language interpretations from attorneys
  • Managing telephonic appearances

Instructor: Carlos Radillo is a freelance interpreter based in California.  He is both state and federally certified as a court interpreter.