LexDox Japan provides two principal services:
(1) Translation of Japanese legal documents into English.
(2) English summaries of Japanese legal documents.
We may provide additional services such as double-checking translations performed by other providers or participating in document review projects.
Additional descriptions of these services together with an overview of our fee structure are given below.
PLEASE ALSO NOTE THE IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE.
LexDox Japan has approximately 20 years experience in specialty translations. We are familiar with a wide variety of Japanese legal documents, with particularly deep experience in all manner of contracts, including non-disclosure agreements, commercial contracts, license agreements and complex loan and financing documents. We have also translated government regulations and policies that are sometimes only available in English yet are critical to doing business in Japan. For complex cross-border litigation we have provided certified translations of contracts under dispute, and exceptionally nuanced opinion letters by experts in Japanese law. We have also worked with various types of legal disclosure documents, including web-site privacy policies and securities filings.
Our experience extends through most key industries, including finance, manufacturing, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, Internet-based businesses and staffing and human resources.
In due diligence, document discovery or other situations, it is difficult to know whether you need a full translation of a document because you do not know what it says. "Just get everything translated" may sound good as an edict for senior management, but it can involve a time-consuming, exceptionally expensive effort that may prove to have been largely unnecessary. A summary of the key provisions of a document is often all that is required for many purposes. It can also be an interim step towards a more focused translation request: you may want an accurate translation of the covenants in a complex financing agreement, but not the boilerplate provisions.
Because we have worked with legal documents as lawyer, LexDox Japan has a pretty good idea of what parts of a document are likely to be important to a law firm or corporation. Our document summaries make sure that you understand the key parts of the document without you paying for a lot of unnecessary translation.
Sometimes we are asked to check or refine translations of legal documents that have been performed by generalist service providers or in-house personnel. This is often done by customers who think that they can save money by just having the document checked rather than paying for a full translation. While we do this type of work if asked, it is often a false economy. We charge by the hour and it can often take more time to fix a bad translation than it would do do the translation from scratch ourselves!
We occasionally assist in procuring or overseeing translations of English legal documents into Japanese.
Subject to availability of staff, we are also available to participate in lawyer-supervised document review projects for litigation or due diligence purposes.
Unlike many translation agencies, we do not charge by the word or the page. Instead, we charge by the hour, billing in 6 minute increments. We believe that this benefits both ourselves and our customers. A complex legal opinion to be used as an exhibit in litigation may require several hours per page to get right, whereas a fairly standard non-disclosure agreement or other document that we are well-accustomed to working with may be finished much more quickly. In addition, when there are multiple documents (in a bundle of related contracts, for example), it is common for many of the boilerplate provisions to be repetitive copies from the same model. Charging by the hour means that our customers only get charged for translating these parts once.
Through this type of arrangement repeat customers are also able to benefit from the greater speed and efficiency that comes with us growing familiar with the style and special characteristics of their documentation. Depending upon the type of translation, we can also discuss with you ways you can help us by providing in-house terminology, relevant reference materials and background information that will further help reduce the cost of your translation or summary.
Our hourly rates depend upon the type of document and timing, but are highly competitive when compared to the rates charged by attorneys or highly-leveraged paralegals at law firms which may translation as a supplemental service.
Documents that need to be certified for litigation will also be subject to an additional per-page certification charge.
If you can send the document in advance we can give you a price quote and guarantee that our fees will not exceed that amount.
Please note that LexDox Japan is not a law firm and is not licensed or qualified to provide legal advice. In the course of providing a translation we may point out defects (missing text, incorrect cross-references, etc.) or logical inconsistencies in the underlying document but the translation itself is for reference purposes only. This means that the English version of the document should not be regarded as a legal document prepared by a lawyer, which can be expected to be interpreted, construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of any jurisdiction by a court in any jurisdiction. If you are planning on signing an English translation of a contract, you should seek legal advice from Japanese counsel regarding the validity and enforceability of the English version.
Similarly, summaries of legal documents are not intended as anything other than that: they should not be considered as any sort of legal review or other evaluation of the merits or risks of the document being summarized.
DID YOU KNOW that English translations of many Japanese laws are available on-line, courtesy of the Japanese government? Additional translations are being added as they become available. This site also contains a useful on-line Japanese-English legal dictionary.
The English web-sites for some of Japan's national government agencies may also contain "unofficial" translations of statutes and regulations under their jurisdictions.
Note that all of these resources should be used with care since: (a) the translations may not reflect recent amendments to the underlying statutes and (b) often the translations can be difficult to follow because of the lack of context and/or sometimes mindless adherence to the use of accepted translations for specific legal terms.
Many important statutes and regulations remain unavailable in English. If you need a translation of a Japanese law, regulation or directive please contact us at webmaster@lexdoxjapan.com.
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