For DLA Piper, one of the world's leading law firms with a presence in over 40 countries, a significant challenge loomed on the horizon. Barnaby Holdings LLC, a major client, was involved in a major litigation case against law firm Mishcon de Reya. The dispute centered around claims of professional negligence and breach of fiduciary duty related to the sale of shares in a prestigious sports franchise. The case, set in the United Kingdom, was one of the most notable business litigation cases in recent years.
DLA Piper turned to LanguageLine Solutions for critical support. The complexity of the case demanded flawless communication across multiple languages, including Italian, French, and Portuguese. LanguageLine was tasked with preparing comprehensive witness statements and providing spoken interpretation services to ensure seamless communication throughout the legal proceedings.
The Challenge
DLA Piper faced several formidable challenges in this high-profile litigation case:
- Multiple Language Combinations: The case required translation and interpretation services across multiple languages, including Italian, French, and Portuguese.
- Client Budget Limitations: Ensuring high-quality services while adhering to budget constraints was essential.
- Quick Turnaround Times: The legal proceedings demanded rapid delivery of translated documents and interpretation services.
DLA Piper needed to work with a leading language service provider that could handle aggressive turnaround times while maintaining a very high level of quality. Security and the protection of the client’s documents were paramount to this case. The litigation involved a premiership football club in the United Kingdom, so confidentiality, trust, professionalism, and industry knowledge were all critical attributes for the trial.
How We Helped
LanguageLine provided comprehensive support to DLA Piper through a tailored, multi-faceted approach for this high-stakes litigation case. We assembled a dedicated team of certified translators and interpreters with significant expertise in legal terminology and concepts.
Our certified translation services ensured the highest standards of accuracy and compliance with legal regulations. Through a rigorous certification process involving multiple layers of review and quality control, we guaranteed that every translated document was fit for legal proceedings.
Our linguists brought dual expertise in language proficiency and legal knowledge, allowing them to accurately translate complex legal documents while preserving the intended meaning and nuances. This precision ensured all parties could rely on the translated documents for clear and accurate communication.
Translation Services
Among other challenges, a witness statement of 46,000 words needed to be translated from Italian into English within three days. The standard turnaround time for such a project would ordinarily be up to four weeks. Due to the urgency and complexity of the case, we implemented the following measures:
- Utilization of Translation Memories: The client had built up a large bank of translation memories over several years, reducing the number of words requiring new translation.
- Customized Machine Translation (MT) Engines: We built customized MT engines for the client in its most requested languages, including French, Italian, and Portuguese. These engines, combined with extensive translation memories, produced high-quality output.
- Post-Editing: Our linguists were trained to effectively post-edit the MT output, ensuring accuracy and fluency in the final translations.
Interpretation Services
DLA Piper required interpreters for each language pair to ensure clear and accurate spoken communication during the court case. We provided interpretation services in four languages over seven days, ensuring that all parties could understand and participate fully in the proceedings.
The Result
Thanks to the robust workflow management system and the highly qualified linguists working on the job, LanguageLine was able to deliver an accurately translated witness statement back to DLA Piper within their strict time frame and budget.
Our advanced workflow management system allowed us to efficiently coordinate the various stages of the translation process, ensuring that every task was completed promptly without compromising on quality. This system also facilitated seamless communication among team members, enabling quick resolutions to any issues that arose and ensuring that the project stayed on track despite the tight deadline.
The results were impressive. Within just three days, we successfully translated 46,000 words from Italian into English, a task that would ordinarily take up to four weeks. This rapid turnaround was made possible by our use of customized machine translation engines, extensive translation memories, and the skilled post-editing performed by our linguists.
Additionally, we provided interpretation services over seven days, ensuring that all spoken communication during the court case was clear and accurate. Our interpreters' expertise and professionalism were crucial in maintaining the flow of proceedings and facilitating effective communication among all parties involved.
What Our Clients Had to Say
"We had a very tight deadline to prepare lengthy witness statements in several languages, with many late amendments to the statements. I was very impressed by the excellent support provided by the LanguageLine team in meeting our requirements. Our own Italian-speaking lawyer also complimented the high standard of the translation work." - Mark Goodwin, Partner, UK Litigation and Regulatory Group, DLA Piper
"LanguageLine’s service has been fantastic. We have been under so much pressure to turn things around, and the team at LanguageLine has accommodated us at very short notice. We are very pleased." - Christina Sharma, Senior Associate, DLA Piper
Let’s Talk Solutions
The successful collaboration with DLA Piper in their high-stakes litigation case demonstrates LanguageLine Solutions' ability to deliver exceptional language services under the most demanding conditions. Whether you need rapid translation, certified accuracy, or expert interpretation across multiple languages, we are equipped to meet your needs with precision and efficiency.
Discover how LanguageLine Solutions can turn your biggest language challenges into growth opportunities with our industry-leading services. Contact us today to learn more about how we can support your business.