Certified legal document translation with second-translator review.
Legal document translation is a specialist discipline. Contracts, pleadings, discovery materials, expert reports, and foreign court orders all use specific terminology and conventions that require translators with documented legal experience. AMS supplies certified legal translation in all major languages, with second-translator review on every project, and certificates of accuracy formatted for U.S. court filing.
What we translate
Contracts and agreements
Commercial contracts, employment agreements, NDAs, licensing agreements, M&A documentation, real estate documents. Translated terminology consistent with U.S. legal usage.
Pleadings and motions
Complaints, answers, motions, replies, briefs. Translation preserves the legal procedural posture and citation format.
Discovery materials
Foreign-language documents produced in discovery: contracts, internal corporate communications, emails, business records. Volume discovery is priced as a bundle.
Depositions and prior testimony
Translated deposition transcripts, prior interview transcripts, recorded statement transcripts. Coordinated with the deposition interpreter where applicable.
Expert reports
Foreign-language expert reports (engineering, accounting, forensic, medical) for use as evidence. Heavy technical content matched to translators with subject-matter expertise.
Foreign court orders and judgments
Translated court orders, judgments, custody orders, divorce decrees. Often with apostille for international use.
Corporate documents
Articles of incorporation, bylaws, board resolutions, shareholder agreements, foreign business licenses. Often translated for U.S. court matters or M&A due diligence.
Affidavits and declarations
Sworn statements from foreign-language affiants, translated with certified statement suitable for U.S. court filing.
How it works
- 01
Send the documents
Upload via Quote form or email. Specify source and target languages, intended use (court filing, internal review, discovery production, etc.), and turnaround.
- 02
Translation + independent review
A qualified legal translator handles the work. A second translator reviews for accuracy, terminology consistency, and formatting.
- 03
Delivery with certificate of accuracy
Final translation as PDF with signed Certificate of Accuracy. Notarization on the certificate available when required.
Why law firms choose AMS for legal translation
Two-translator review
Every legal translation is reviewed by a second linguist before delivery. No "draft" deliverables. No translation-related E&O exposure.
Subject-matter matching
A pharma contract gets a translator familiar with pharma. A litigation pleading gets a translator familiar with U.S. civil procedure. We match.
Court-filing-ready format
Certificates of accuracy formatted for U.S. court filing. Notarization, apostille, and consular legalization coordinated when required.
Legal document translation questions, answered
Are AMS legal translations accepted by U.S. courts?
Yes. AMS provides certified translations with a signed Certificate of Accuracy from the translator. Most U.S. state and federal courts require certified translation for foreign-language exhibits and supporting documents; AMS's certification meets the standard. Some courts require notarized translation; we coordinate that as well.
Can AMS translate documents under tight discovery deadlines?
Yes. Rush turnaround is available for additional fee. For very large discovery productions, we scale the translator pool to meet the deadline while preserving the two-translator review on each document.
How does AMS handle technical legal vocabulary that does not have a direct equivalent?
For terms without direct cross-language equivalents (e.g., U.S. legal concepts in civil-law contexts), translators render the closest concept and provide a translator's note explaining the divergence. Notes are formatted to satisfy U.S. court evidentiary practice.
Does AMS coordinate translation with deposition interpreters?
Yes. When the same case involves both deposition interpretation and document translation, AMS coordinates so the terminology is consistent between live testimony and translated documents.
Can AMS handle very large legal translation projects (100+ pages)?
Yes. Large legal projects are scoped, priced, and scheduled at quote time. For 100+ page projects, we typically assign a small team coordinated by our team to keep terminology consistent.
What about confidentiality for sensitive legal documents?
AMS translators and reviewers work under written confidentiality agreements. Privileged and confidential documents are handled with the same discipline as any other sensitive legal work.
Further reading
Certified vs. notarized translation: what each one actually means
The four most common translation document statuses, explained.
Read the articleSworn, certified, notarized, apostilled: which authentication do you need?
When each authentication layer applies.
Read the articleChoosing a language services provider for a law firm
The criteria that separate professional agencies from order-takers.
Read the articleThe Hague Apostille for translated documents
For international authentication of translated legal documents.
Read the articleCourt interpreter ethics: the four canons
The same ethical framework informs AMS's legal translation practice.
Read the articleSchedule with AMS
Request a quote or reach our scheduling team. AMS will assign the right linguist for your matter.