First year out - interpreted depositions

[Kyung]

This could potentially be the easiest deposition that will leave you with a headache.

Call from the agency.

Agency: We've got you on a really easy interpreted depo.
Me: Okay.

Let's break that down. So many things to consider here. Interpreted depos can be easy, really easy. But they can also be really, really difficult. It depends somewhat on the language being interpreted.

Let's break that down.

Spanish - the deposition will be most likely simultaneous translation, which means the attorney will start asking their question. And about three words into it, the interpreter starts going. So basically you will be listening to two voices all day long, trying to hear the English words. Of course, if your attorney knows some Spanish, there will come a point where the question will be asked and translated. The witness will answer. And because the attorney knows some Spanish, the attorney will not wait for the interpreter to translate in the answer back into English. Meanwhile, you're sitting there thinking did I miss the answer? Was there an answer? Speak up and clarify that you did not hear the answer translated into English. Chances are the attorney does that sort of thing all the time.

At some point, you might have a question, opposing counsel starts his objection, then questioning attorney replies to objection. Meanwhile, in the background you've got the interpreter translating question, witness answer, objection, questioning attorney's reply to the objection all at the same time. The potential here is four voices all at once. Take Control!!! Let them know you cannot take down all three voices at the same time and bec. it is being translated that it is even more difficult.

Or better yet, the witness will speak some Spanish, and will interrupt the interpreter's translation to answer. So you will have the witness going in and out of Spanish all day long. Joy!! If it goes on too long, and the attorney doesn't admonish the witness to listen to the translation and answer in Spanish, you might want to speak up. Or if this question comes up at the beginning, the witness speaks some English, we'll just use the interpreter as needed. Oh, no. You need to lay it down. It really makes for a clearer record if the witness is all in English or all in Spanish. Switching back and forth makes for a very confusing record.

Korean - simultaneous translation not possible bec. of syntax issues. Oftentimes you will end up with an interpreter who has a very heavy accent and is almost as difficult to understand as the witness. Trust me. I'm Korean. And I even have trouble understanding the accent. Oh, another thing to be aware of. They don't use male/female pronouns. So sometimes the answer will be translated with the wrong pronoun into English. So you're thinking, wait a minute, I thought we were talking about a male and the interpreter just said she.

Persian - ditto strong accent.
Russian - different dialects - your depo could end up not going if they send an interpreter who doesn't happen to translate the particular dialect your deponent speaks.
Chinese - similar to Korean.

In all depos beware of the interpreter who likes to editorialize.

Be prepared to read back. Sometimes attorneys like to ask really long convoluted questions which are really hard for the interpreter to keep track of. They will ask the attorney to repeat it. The attorney will look at you to read it back.

Try to get a caption so you have the correct spellings of the parties' names. Share it with the interpreter.
It helps them get down the names of people who the deponent might be referring to.

Also, because it is being interpreted, interpreted depos are slow, which is a good thing and a bad thing. Slow, so it makes for a very clean transcript. Bad because yoou could conceivably get 30 pages in an hour. So they're not high-dollar jobs even with a little extra being paid bec. it's interpreted.

Don't forget to swear in the the interpreter, then the witness.

Don't forget the interpreter certs at the end. So you'll have three certs - interpreter, witness, and you.

Don't forget to put the interpreter on the appearance page.

Interpreter depos can be tricky, but like the agency said, it's an easy depo;)

Good luck. Hope this helps.

[Kyung]

The interpreter cert is for the person who is translating the transcript for the deponent during his read and sign after you've completed the transcript. I think it's standard in California. At least I've always done it.

[Stacy Tegner]

Mary Ann, I do the same as you when those pesky attorneys try to watch the whole depo on my screen. I use a split screen in Eclipse and I edit in the top pane and make the bottom pain small or not there ~ they often look confused, but move on and away:))

[Patricia Babits]

I don't do an interpreter cert either.

[Stacy Tegner]

Excellent post, Kyung ~ so true. You just never know w/ an interpreter ~ easy? hard? Oftentimes, though, you do have so much editing time that your job can be fully scoped at the end of the day. Just don't forget to write down the answers and questions in between your editing time ~ don't get lost in "scope" mode ~ yes, I've done that!! :))
One questions ~ interpreter cert? I've never heard of or included that in my transcript. I know none of the firms I work for up here use one either. The interpreters never read the transcript with the purpose of certifying it, do they? Am I completely missing the boat on something?