✔︎ Build Trust
✔︎ Communicate Clearly
✔︎ Avoid Risk
Trust is essential.
The relationship between a client and an attorney is similar to the relationship between a patient and a doctor – personal, confidential and built upon trust. Similar to a patient, it is important that a client feel completely comfortable sharing information with their attorney. Like a doctor, an attorney must also be able to explain concepts and strategies to a client in order to permit the client to make the best decisions. So, how can an attorney and client create a trustworthy attorney/client relationship when they do not speak the same language? Here at Contigo Centro Legal, that will never be the case with trust being one of our values.
Be confident that what’s being communicated is clear and accurate.
Attorneys have an ethical obligation to keep the client informed of developments in their case. One option for non-Spanish speaking attorneys to communicate with Spanish speaking clients is to hire and pay for a translator. Translators, however, are often not certified or are not held to a high standard of accuracy. The non-Spanish speaking attorney will never know if the translator is accurately speaking for the client or whether the translator is filtering the attorney’s statements. This is critically important when the client is making statements in a trial setting, before a judge and jury. The attorney must know if the translator is accurately translating a client’s statements, which could determine the outcome of the case. Once again, here at Contigo Centro Legal, that will never be a problem.
Avoid the risk of not having a translator.
Each case requires a lot of communication between an attorney and a client. Non-Spanish speaking attorneys have to hire a translator every time they need to update the client on the case, risking the possibility of miscommunication or, at the very least, delaying the case. Spanish-speaking clients should ask who pays for the cost of constant translation: the client or the attorney?
When translators are not available, some attorneys depend on their client’s family members to translate for them. This, again, is very risky. Family members may have a personal interest in the outcome of the case and, therefore, may be biased. In addition, family members may not understand legal issues and may have difficulty conveying the essence of what the lawyer is trying to communicate.
A bilingual personal injury attorney can custom-tailor their communication to address the unique needs of their clients, which is exactly our values here at Contigo Centro Legal.