Palm Coast Injury Law Blog

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.