My Lawyer doesn't speak Spanish
A woman whose native tongue is Spanish came into see me today. Her broken English is much better than my non- existent Spanish so there was an interesting challenge to overcome during our initial conference. No one else in my office is fluent in Spanish. She was a walk in client and had not called for an appointment. I did not want to disappoint her by postponing the new client conference, and thought I'd try out some interesting new technology available on Google.
In her broken English I learned she had been involved in a recent car accident. Naturally I needed to get some basic information. I learned she was in a two car accident, on a local 4 lane parkway. Fortunately I had written a recent post about her type of accident, and so I was able to send my post to translate.google.com where it was instantly translated into Spanish for her. I also used the translate function to ask some questions about her medical care, her diagnosis and current symptoms. After a few minutes we decided a more lengthy conference would be needed next week. Google can also be used to translate my client intake documents.
The Florida bar requires every lawyer who represents a client on a contingency fee basis to provide the new client with a Statement of Clients Rights, before signing a contingency fee contract. I decided to give her a copy in Spanish, and to also translate my fee contract too, so she has a better understanding of her rights and obligations.
Legal concepts like negligence, the closing speed between two cars in a collision, the amount of property damages, and the adverse consequences of filing a suit for damages were also discussed. I relied heavily on the translate.google.com program as we sat in my office. I typed my questions into google, pushed the "translate" button and she read the translation from my desktop. After reading the question in Spanish, she explained the best she could and I typed followup questions as needed. We both thought the technology was fun to use, and were more comfortable with each other for having used it.
Even when a person has no language barrier Legal concepts can be difficult to understand. It is the lawyer's job to make a reasonable effort to assure the client understands the law.
I tell my clients I do not practice Veterinary Law: I represent people, not puppy dogs or kitty cats. They want and need to be involved in legal decisions affecting them. I have an ethical obligation to try to make sure they understand my advice.
