Legal Translation
Translate contracts, filings, policies, and regulatory material without losing sight of defined terms and cross-references.
Why the subject matters
What changes in this kind of work
A small wording change can alter a legal obligation. Reviewers can apply an approved glossary, reuse accepted clauses through Translation Memory, and compare a revised DOCX with the earlier version. DeepReference assists with the language and the checks; a qualified legal reviewer remains responsible for the final meaning.
Legal texts depend on consistency as much as on meaning. A contract that defines ‘the Services’ in clause 1 relies on exactly that expression for the next forty pages. If the translation uses two different words for it, a reader on the other side, or a court, may ask whether two different things were meant. The same applies to the difference between ‘shall’ and ‘may’, between a penalty and liquidated damages, or between a warranty and an indemnity.
In DeepReference, a translation model running on our own servers in the EU produces the first draft. When a sentence contains a term from your approved glossary, that term is sent to the model together with the sentence. Clauses you have already approved can be reused from translation memory, so a standard confidentiality clause is not translated differently in every new contract. The quality check then flags segments where a figure differs from the source, a required glossary term is missing or text was left untranslated.
What does not change is who is responsible. The quality check flags; it does not decide. A qualified legal translator or lawyer reads the draft, resolves each flag and approves the text segment by segment. Where a translation must be certified or sworn, that is done by a translator authorised to do so, outside DeepReference.
How it works
A project from upload to delivery
- 1
Set up the terminology
Import the client’s glossary (CSV, XLSX, TMX or TBX) and any existing translation memory (TMX). On Freelance and above you can also extract terms from an earlier contract, or from a contract and its approved translation, in DOCX or PDF. The legal domain setting guides this extraction. You approve or dismiss each term before it goes into a glossary.
How to do it, step by step: 2.6 Import terms into a glossary · 4.1 Import a TMX file
- 2
Upload the document
Upload the DOCX, PDF, PPTX or XLSX file (up to 50 MB; 75 MB on Business) and choose the target language, a glossary and, if you wish, the formal tone. Clause numbering, headings, tables, headers and footers are kept in the file that comes back. A PDF needs selectable text; a scan without a text layer is refused.
How to do it, step by step: 6. Document translation
- 3
Get the first draft
The model translates on DeepReference’s servers in the EU. Glossary terms that occur in a sentence are sent with that sentence. With translation memory (Translator Pro), a clause whose source text exactly matches an approved segment is reused instead of being translated again.
How to do it, step by step: 2.15 Use a glossary correctly
- 4
Review segment by segment
In the segment editor, source and target sit side by side, with translation memory matches and their scores, glossary hits and quality flags. The reviewer corrects, then approves each segment, or uses ‘Approve all’ once everything has been read. Each segment keeps a version history. On Business, a project can be shared with a second reviewer, who can leave comments.
How to do it, step by step: 7. Translation Editor
- 5
Export and handle the next draft
Download the translation in its original format. When the other side sends a revised draft, revision comparison (Freelance and above) gives you a redline, a DOCX with real tracked changes and a list of changes. In ‘with translation’ mode (with translation memory on Translator Pro), only the segments affected by the revision are translated again, and nothing is charged until you confirm.
How to do it, step by step: 9. Revision comparison
Document types
What we translate
- Contracts and agreementsDefined terms, cross-references and the force of each obligation must stay exactly as drafted, often across dozens of pages.
- Court documentsIn pleadings, judgments and orders, names, case numbers, dates and deadlines must match the source, and procedural terms follow the conventions of the court concerned.
- Legislation and regulatory textsArticle and paragraph numbering, references to other acts and any official translation that already exists must be respected.
- Corporate governance recordsIn articles of association, minutes and resolutions, company names, legal forms such as GmbH or Ltd, and voting figures must be exact.
- Intellectual property filingsIn patent claims the scope of protection can turn on a single word, so claim wording and reference numerals need careful checking.
- Compliance documentationPolicies and codes of conduct are read by employees, so they need correct terminology and clear, consistent instructions.
- Powers of attorney and notarial deedsThese are often presented to authorities and may need a certified or sworn translation; DeepReference can prepare the draft, but the certification happens outside it.
- Terms and conditions and privacy noticesTexts for consumers must stay legally precise and still be readable; the same clauses return from one version to the next, which is where translation memory helps.
- Policy wordingsDefinitions, insuring clauses, exclusions and conditions refer to each other, so a defined term must be translated the same way every time it appears.
- Policy schedulesPolicy number, period of insurance, sums insured, limits and excess are the facts the customer relies on, so each figure and date is checked against the source.
- EndorsementsAn endorsement changes the cover from a stated date; the translation must show clearly what is added, removed or amended, and from when.
How to do it, step by step: 6. Document translation
Quality controls
Checks available during review
Domain terminology
A domain glossary or termbase can be applied to keep preferred vocabulary consistent during review.
How to do it, step by step: 3. Terminology extraction
Format and structure checks
Document structure, numbering, tables, and section conventions remain visible for reviewer checks.
How to do it, step by step: 8. Document Editor
Translation memory
Approved translations can be reused when the same or similar text appears again.
How to do it, step by step: 4. Translation memory
Review records
Reviewer actions, translation settings, and approval timestamps are kept where the workflow supports them.
How to do it, step by step: 7.3 Project tools
Glossary filtering
Only glossary terms found in the current text are sent with the translation request.
How to do it, step by step: 2.15 Use a glossary correctly
Recommended settings
How to set up a job in this field
Domain for terminology extraction
Choose Legal when you extract terms from these documents. The domain is used for extraction only.
Step by step in the user guideGlossary
Add the approved terms for this client and language pair, one translation per term, and select the glossary when you translate.
Step by step in the user guideTerminology examples
How key terms are handled
Force majeure
Often kept in French in English contracts and translated in others. Record the rendering your client uses in the glossary, so it is sent to the model in every sentence that contains it.
Liquidated damages
Not the same as a penalty, and in common-law systems the difference can matter in court. The glossary entry keeps one agreed rendering; the reviewer checks that it is not mixed up with penalties, warranties or indemnities.
Governing law and jurisdiction
Two separate clauses: which law applies, and which courts decide. The reviewer checks that they are not merged and that the country or court named matches the source.
Defined terms
Capitalised expressions such as ‘the Agreement’ or ‘the Supplier’ must be translated the same way throughout. Add them to the project glossary; the quality check flags a segment where the required term is missing.
Shall, may, must not
These words carry obligation, permission and prohibition. Target languages express them differently (for example with the present tense in French or Italian contracts), so the reviewer checks that the force of each clause is unchanged.
Indemnify and hold harmless
A common Anglo-American pair with no single equivalent in many legal systems. Agree a rendering with the client and keep it in the glossary, so it does not change from one contract to the next.
Reasonable endeavours / best efforts
Different standards of effort, and courts may read them differently. Keep each expression as a separate glossary entry so that they are not merged into one.
Representations and warranties
Statements of fact and promises about them, often grouped in one clause. Many civil-law systems have no exact equivalent, so the rendering is a decision for the legal reviewer and is then kept in the glossary.
Without prejudice
Means different things in different contexts: a reservation of rights in a contract, or protection of settlement correspondence in English litigation. The model sees the sentence, not the history of the dispute, so the reviewer checks it every time.
How to do it, step by step: 2.4 Add terms · 2.15 Use a glossary correctly
Who uses this
Industries served
Law firms, corporate legal departments, courts, regulators, notaries, patent attorneys, compliance teams, and arbitration bodies.
Standards and references
What reviewers can check
Reviewers can check defined terms, party names, dates, amounts, clause references, numbering, and repeated wording before export.
Before delivery
What your reviewer checks
- Each defined term is translated the same way every time and follows one capitalisation convention.
- Party names, legal forms (GmbH, S.p.A., Ltd) and registration numbers match the source.
- Amounts in figures and in words agree with each other and with the source.
- Dates, deadlines and periods such as ‘within 30 days of receipt’ keep their meaning and starting point.
- Clause numbers and cross-references such as ‘subject to clause 7.2’ point to the right clause.
- Obligations, permissions and prohibitions (shall, may, must not) keep their force.
- Concepts with no direct equivalent in the target legal system are handled the same way throughout: kept, explained or translated by an agreed convention.
- Every quality flag has been read and resolved, and every segment is approved.
- Signature blocks, stamps and seals are handled as the client requires; text inside images is not translated.
How to do it, step by step: 7. Translation Editor
Transparency
What DeepReference does not do
- DeepReference does not certify or legalise translations, and it does not produce sworn translations. Where that is required, a sworn or certified translator does it under the rules of the country concerned.
- DeepReference does not give legal advice and does not check a translation against the current law of any jurisdiction.
- There is no model trained for legal texts. The same model translates every field; the legal domain setting guides terminology extraction only.
- DeepReference does not provide translators or reviewers. Your own qualified reviewer reads and approves the text.
- Glossary terms are supplied to the model and missing ones are flagged, but they are not inserted automatically. Date and number formats are not converted by rule.
- A scanned court document without a text layer is refused; run text recognition first, or upload the original file. Text in images, such as stamps or handwritten notes, is not translated, and password-protected PDFs must be unlocked first.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Does DeepReference provide certified or sworn translations?
No. DeepReference is software: it does not certify translations and does not provide translators. If a document must be certified, sworn or legalised, a translator authorised in the country concerned does that. That translator can use DeepReference for the draft and the review, but the certification is their own act and their own responsibility.
Is there a model trained specifically for legal texts?
No. The same translation model is used for every field. The legal domain setting guides terminology extraction only; it does not change how the model translates. What adapts the output to your work is your glossary, your translation memory and your review.
Who can see our clients’ documents?
The text is translated on DeepReference’s own servers in the EU. No outside AI company sees it, and customer content is never used to train the model. Uploads are encrypted in your browser before they are sent, and stored files are encrypted at rest. This protects the text on its way to our servers; the servers themselves decrypt it in order to translate it. Deleting your account removes documents, memories and glossaries, and backups expire after 14 days. Whether this meets your duty of confidentiality is for you or your firm to assess.
The other side has sent a revised draft. Do we have to translate the whole contract again?
Not necessarily. Revision comparison (Freelance and above) compares the two DOCX versions and gives you a redline, a DOCX with real tracked changes that Word can accept or reject, a redline PDF and a change list as PDF or CSV. In ‘with translation’ mode (with translation memory on Translator Pro), you compare the revised source with a document translated in DeepReference, and only the segments the revision affected are translated again. Nothing is charged until you confirm.
Can we use our existing translation memory and termbase?
Yes, through files. Translation memories are imported and exported as TMX (translation memory is part of Translator Pro). Glossaries are imported and exported as CSV, XLSX, TMX or TBX. There is no direct connection to other translation tools.
Does DeepReference insert our glossary terms automatically?
It supplies them. Approved terms that occur in a sentence are sent to the model with that sentence, so the model translates with them in view. If a required term is still missing from the translation, the quality check flags the segment. It is not corrected automatically; the reviewer decides.
Review framework
Open the platform from the dashboard when you are ready to work on files.
View quality documentationBegin projects: Legal Translation
Open the platform from the dashboard when you are ready to work on files.