Legal
 The process of translating a legal text is riddled with bottlenecks because, apart from languages, institutions and legislation are also involved. Quite often, an institution that exists in one legal system does not exist in the other, or the same word means diverse things in different legal systems. For example, when addressing prison sentences, the Swiss Penal System makes a distinction between "réclusion" (more serious) and "imprisonnement", the Belgian between "détention" (more serious) and "reclusion", and the French between "réclusion criminelle" (more serious) and "emprisonnement".
On the other hand, interpreting can be extremely delicate when not all the parties understand that the interpreter should not take an active role in the proceedings. At Today Translations, we have built our strong reputation in legal services upon sworn translators and interpreters who couple their experience with expertise in international legislation.
Our Services
We translate a whole range of legal documents, including birth, marriage and death certificates, divorce sentences, certificates of no impediment, deeds, visas, passports and other legal documents.
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We supply all varieties of interpreting within the course of legal settings (including for large groups, small groups or remote interpreting). We provide interpreting services at courts, police stations and prisons. We only work with sworn interpreters with relevant qualifications and several years' experience in their respective countries.
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MAJOR CARDS ACCEPTED
Legal Services Industry: Consolidation and Changes in Labour Force
The Legal Services industry is expanding at a fairly solid pace, driven by the increasing legal requirements of corporations. According to Euromonitor, the US Legal Services Market is topped by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (with estimated revenues at $1.3 billion in 2003), followed by Sullivan & Cromwell ($687 million in 2003) and Cravath Swaine & Moore ($425 million in 2003).
In UK, Clifford Chance, which is also the world's largest provider, ranks first (£941 million turnover in 2003), followed by Freshfields (£785 million in 2003), Linklaters (£720 million in 2003), Allen & Overy (£649 million in 2003) and Slaughter and May (£248 million in 2003).
A notorious trend in this industry is the merging of smaller firms to achieve better economies of scale, or to enter into strategic alliances with other small firms, particularly across geographical areas.
Another commonality in most countries is for a small number of large firms to be involved in providing a range of services to corporate clients, and a much larger number of small firms (usually in the form of a sole proprietor or partnership) servicing household and small business needs.
On a basic and immediate level, the legal profession has become increasingly consolidated. This represents a dramatic break from the past. Historically, law has been dominated by sole practitioners and small partnerships. According to the Lancaster University Management School, today, over a third of all solicitors (36%) work for very large firms, which employ at least 25 partners and, on average, over 500 employees.
More interestingly, these firms, despite accounting for 2% of the overall professional population, generate half of its revenues. Over the last 10 years, this particular occupational segment has expanded by a dramatic 57% in headcount terms and by a considerable 31% in financial significance.
The legal profession is increasingly consolidating around larger productive units. Often described as 'multinational law factories', they employ thousands of salaried legal and support staff throughout a network of offices across the five continents.
CHANGES IN LABOUR FORCE COMPOSITION
Consolidation has implied that today the majority of the profession works in large organisations. Following dramatic developments in the professional division of labour, the majority of solicitors are in salaried employment. This represents a fundamental departure from the profession's traditional configuration.
Partner headcount has expanded by less than a third between 1986 and 2000. This is overshadowed by associate headcount growth, which has expanded by 170% during the same period. Associates have been growing over 5 times more rapidly than their profit-sharing colleagues.
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