Stridonium talks: English legal contracts with Stuart Bugg

Guest post by attendee John Edmund Hynd

On Sunday April 27^th and Monday April 28^th 2014 Stridonium hosted the first in a series of three workshops met at Hotel HoogHolten, in a converted 1919 English-style hunting lodge in the Salland National Park at Holten in the Dutch province of Overijssel.

Forest pathways around the venue

After a delicious networking dinner the evening before, we learnt about everything to do with English legal contracts from our speaker Stuart Bugg from New Zealand and England who together with his German-born wife practices law in and around Nuremberg in the Bavarian province of Franconia.

Stuart’s easy-going and approachable style put us all immediately at our ease, enabling participants from Belgium, Germany, England and the Netherlands to make constructive comments throughout the course of the day. Participants, all experienced legal translators and interpreters, were invited to ask questions during the talk, and this led to lively and informative discussions with everyone getting answers and helpful suggestions to their own specific questions and translation challenges.

Workshop setting: the library

During the morning we learnt about the ‘Great Divide’, the ‘Three Musketeers’, what constitutes a ‘deed’, ‘cross-system contracts’, ‘forum shopping’, why English common law has no ‘law of obligations’, what ‘equity’ is, why we do not have ‘movable’ and/or ‘immovable’ property in common law, why we do not have enforceable penalties in English law contracts, why not all contracts have to be in writing to be valid, what ‘fitness for purpose’ is as well as ‘merchantability’ and/or ‘satisfactory quality’, when is ‘delivery’ nothing to do with sending a contract by registered post, what ‘bailment’ is, who is a ‘bailor’ or a ‘bailee’ and when does adding a glossary at the end of your translation become essential? 

We then adjourned for lunch and were treated to an excellent hot meal of mustard soup, fish and dessert before starting the afternoon session where we dealt largely with legal English terminology and more specific problems related to translation work.

The speaker, the stunning setting, the lush show that Mother Nature had put on for us, the participants and the helpful hotel staff all conspired to make this seminar well worthwhile. The entire group looks forward to Stuart’s next two seminars on Legal Drafting scheduled for May 25^th and 26^th and Commercial Law on June 1^st and 2^nd at the same delightful venue.

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John is Anglo-Dutch and an official legal translator and interpreter based in the south of the Netherlands (Eindhoven), where he has been tackling legal translations for almost 20 years, building on the extensive knowledge of Canon Law imparted to him at Innsbruck by Prof Johannes Muehlsteiger S.J.

Workshop: juristisches Englisch, aber richtig!

Die drei Veranstaltungen der Seminarreihe mit RA Stuart Bugg, ein führender Experte und Ausbilder für Rechtsenglisch im deutschen Sprachraum, sind eine seltene und willkommene Gelegenheit, sich mit den wichtigsten und schwierigsten Fallen der sprachlichen und rechtlichen Aspekte der angelsächsischen Juristenwelt auseinanderzusetzen. Wieder erfolgreiche Geschäftskommunikationstagung in Cambridge neulich, diese von Stridonium in englischer Sprache angebotene Workshops für englische Verträge, rechtliche Gestaltung und kommerzielles Recht verfahren nach dem Prinzip, bekannte Experten im Fachbereich mit denjenigen, die tagtäglich mit den Themen befasst sind, zusammen zu bringen, in diesem Falle Rechtsanwälten und professionellen Sprachdienstleistern. Herr RA Bugg, Autor des Referenzwerks Contracts in English: an introductory guide to understanding, using and developing 'Anglo-American' style contracts (C.H. Beck) und Mitverfasser des Fachwörterbuches Kompakt Recht Englisch von Langenscheidt, hat Verbindungen mit Rechtsanwaltskammern in vier Ländern (Neuseeland, Australien, Großbritannien und Deutschland) und hat als Dozent an Universitäten und juristischen Fakultäten in Neuseeland, Deutschland und den Vereinigten Staaten agiert. Er ist einer, an den sich Leute sowohl in Regierung- als auch Industriekreise bevorzugt wenden, um Englisch für Zwecke der internationalen juristischen und handelstechnischen Anwendung besser zu verstehen und einzusetzen. Es freut mich sehr, dass die Organisatoren bei Stridonium nochmal das Niveau der professionellen Ausbildung erhöht haben und anstatt die „üblichen Täter“ in den Kreisen der Sprachdienstleister, einen echten Experten aus der juristischen Welt, in der sich unsere Endkunden befinden, für erstklassige Weiterbildung ernsthafter professionellen Übersetzer sowie Rechtsanwälte erworben haben.

Diese Workshops sind eine hervorragende Gelegenheit, bei der diejenigen, die juristisches Englisch schreiben und übersetzen müssen, die besten Ansätze lernen und besprechen können, um häufige Fehler, sowohl sprachlich als auch durch Unterschiede der Rechtssysteme entstehend, zu vermeiden, und die Grundsätze der eindeutigen, rechtsverbindlichen Anwendung der englischen Sprache im professionellen Einsatz zu beherrschen.

Der entspannende Veranstaltungsort in Holten (NL) nah zur deutschen Grenze ist einfach mit Auto bzw. der Bahn zu erreichen. Er ist bestens für formale und informale Austausche zwischen Teilnehmern geeignet, mit wunderschöner Lage am Rande des Dorfes und unglaublich leckerer, kreativer Küche. Alle Workshops finden montags statt; Frühbucher können in der Regel ein Zimmer im Veranstaltungshotel für Sonntag Abend umsonst mitbuchen (soweit noch verfügbar).

Sie können sich für die einzelnen Workshops auf der (englischsprachigen) Veranstaltungsseite von Stridonium anmelden. Der Teilnahmegebühr beträgt 350 € pro Workshop. Falls Sie alle drei Workshops besuchen möchten, können Sie das Gesamtpaket zu einem Sonderpreis mit Anfrage an die Veranstalter (info (bei) stridonium.com) buchen.

Die Anzahl der Verträge in Europa, die sich auf Englisch für Ihre rechtsverbindliche Version stützen, hat in den letzten Jahrzehnten erheblich zugenommen, mit dem Ergebnis, dass immer größer werdender Druck auf Anwälte, ihre Mandanten, Übersetzer und Dolmetscher besteht, die englische Sprache in juristischer Anwendung richtig zu verstehen, damit die rechtlichen Konzepte eines Landes in der anderen Sprache eindeutig und klar zu verstehen sind.

Die geplanten Workshoptermine sind:

English Contracts - 28. April 2014
    - Common Law vs. Civil Law
    - Cross-System Contracts
    - Legal English Terminology
    - Lost and Found in Translation

Legal Drafting - 26. Mai 2014
    - Basic Drafting Principles
    - Legal Terms
    - Principles of Drafting and Interpretation
    - Avoiding Ambiguity: Exercises in Drafting

Commercial Law - 2. Juni 2014
    - Overview
    - Legal Entities
    - Employment Law
    - Bankruptcy and Insolvency

Jeden Sonntag Abend vor dem entsprechenden Workshop findet eine entspannte Networking-Abendessen statt, an der sich alle beiteiligen können. Die Kosten für die Mahlzeit sind nicht im Programm enthalten. Einzelheiten zu den Themen und der Zeitplanung jedes Workshops sowie Registrierungslinks sind in englischer Sprache auf der Stridonium-Veranstaltungsseite zu finden.

Für jeden Workshop werden 6 CPD-Punkte vom niederländischen Bureau BTV und 6 ATA CE-Punkte anerkannt.

Anfahrt (Google-Karte):

Mit Zug
- 10 Minuten Fußeg vom Bahnhof (Beukenlaantje)
- ODER informieren Sie die Organisatoren über Ihre Ankunft damit sie Sie oder das Hotelpersonal Sie abholen können.

Mit Auto (kostenlose Parkplätze reichlich vorhanden)

Aus Richtung Deventer (A1)

A1 Richtung Hengelo/Enschede
Ausfahrt 26: Lochem/Holten
Links abbiegen nach Raalte, den (ausgeschilderten) Weg nach Holterberg fahren
Geradeaus über den Kreisverkehr, nach der Hochbrücke rechts abbiegen, dann links an der T-Kreuzung
Dann links am Kreisverkehr und nach 50 m nach Holterberg rechts abbiegen
Nach etwa 1 km rechts abbiegen (am gelben Gebäude)

Aus Richtung Enschede/Hengelo (A1)

A1 nach Deventer/Apeldoorn/Amsterdam
Ausfahrt 27: Holten/Markelo
Weiterfahren durch Holten, dann am Kreisverkehr die Ausfahrt für Holterberg nehmen und nach 50 m nach Holterberg rechts abbiegen
Nach etwa 1 km rechts abbiegen (am gelben Gebäude)

Legal English: Getting It Right!

That's not the title of the upcoming workshop series by attorney and linguistic specialist Stuart Bugg, but perhaps it ought to be. Like the recent successful business communication conference in Cambridge, these Stridonium courses for English Contracts, Legal Drafting and Commercial Law once again bring together a recognized subject authority with those involved in practice with the topics, both working attorneys and professional linguists. Mr. Bugg, author of Contracts in English: an introductory guide to understanding, using and developing 'Anglo-American' style contracts (C.H. Beck) and co-author of Langenscheidt Fachwörterbuch Kompakt Recht Englisch, has been associated with legal societies in four countries (NZ, AU, UK and DE) and has taught at universities and law school in New Zealand, Germany and the United States. He is one of the "go-to guys" in Europe training attorneys as well as government and industry professionals to understand legal English better and improve their use of it in international commercial practice. I cannot say how pleased I am that the Stridonium organizers have once more raised the bar and gone beyond the "usual suspects" of the translation circuit to connect more effectively with real experts who are at home in the world of our direct clients and offer first-class continuing education for serious professionals.

These workshops are an excellent opportunity for those who write and translate legal English to learn and discuss best practice, common pitfalls based on linguistic issues as well as differences in legal systems, and how to apply the principles of good, professional language for unambiguous, legally sound communication.

The relaxing venue in Holten, in the east of the Netherlands near the German border with excellent road and rail connections, is a perfect place for formal and informal discussions and exchange of ideas and is noted for its beautiful setting in the woods at the edge of town and its outstanding cuisine. Each workshop is scheduled on a Monday, and early registrants can usually secure a comfortable room at no charge as part of the event registration (subject to availability).

Attendees can register for individual workshops on the Stridonium events page; the fee for each full day of instruction is €350. But if you plan to attend all three workshops, a special rate can be obtained by inquiry to the event organizers at info (at) stridonium.com.

The past few decades have seen a dramatic increase in the share of European law contracts relying on English for their binding version. The result is ever-greater pressure on attorneys, their clients, translators and interpreters to understand and use legal English correctly and to understand how best to explain the legal principles of one country in the language of another.

The schedule of workshops is as follows:

English Contracts - April 28, 2014
    - Common Law vs. Civil Law
    - Cross-System Contracts
    - Legal English Terminology
    - Lost and Found in Translation

Legal Drafting - May 26, 2014
    - Basic Drafting Principles
    - Legal Terms
    - Principles of Drafting and Interpretation
    - Avoiding Ambiguity: Exercises in Drafting

Commercial Law - June 2, 2014
    - Overview
    - Legal Entities
    - Employment Law
    - Bankruptcy and Insolvency

There is a networking dinner each Sunday evening before the Monday workshop for early arrivals. Details of each workshop's topics and schedule as well as registration links are on the Stridonium events page.

Each workshop has been awarded 6 CPD points by the Dutch Bureau BTV and 6 ATA CE points.


How to get there (Google map link):

By train
- A 10-minute walk from the station (Beukenlaantje)
- OR let the organizers know when you arrive and either they or hotel staff will collect you!

By car (plenty of free parking!)

From Deventer(A1)

Take the A1 towards Hengelo/Enschede
Exit 26: Lochem/Holten
Turn left for Raalte, follow the signs for Holterberg
Go straight ahead over the roundabout, turn right after the viaduct and left at the T-junction
Turn left at the roundabout and after 50 m take a right turn for Holterberg
After approx 1 km turn right (at yellow building)

From Enschede/Hengelo (A1)

A1 towards Deventer/Apeldoorn/Amsterdam
Exit 27: Holten/Markelo
Continue through the center of Holten, take the Holterberg exit at the roundabout and after 50 m take a right turn for Holterberg
After approx 1 km turn right (at yellow building)

OmegaT workshop in Holten (NL) November 18th!

is free software, but time is money, and to use this excellent Open Source tool effectively and enjoy its many benefits, expert guidance can be enormously helpful. This software holds its own with commercial leaders such as SDL Trados Studio and memoQ in many respects and surpasses them in some cases (for example, in its ability to read embedded objects, including charts, in the Microsoft Office document formats 2007, 2010 and 2013).

On November 17 and 18, the Stridonium Holten Lectures will feature Marc Prior in a workshop for OmegaT, a professional computer-assisted translation environment originally developed by Keith Godfrey and currently maintained and extended by a team led by Didier Briel. It is available in nearly 30 languages and includes:

• fuzzy matching
• match propagation
• simultaneous processing of multiple-file projects
• simultaneous use of multiple translation memories
• user glossaries with recognition of inflected forms

Document file formats include:

• Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint (DOCX, XSLX, PPTX, etc.)
• other translation tool formats such as TMX, TTX, TXML, XLIFF & SDLXLIFF
• XHTML and HTML
• Open Document formats (LibreOffice, OpenOffice.org)
• MediaWiki (Wikipedia)
• plain text

... and around 30 other file types as well as

• Unicode (UTF-8) support for non-Latin alphabets
• support for right-to-left languages (Hebrew, Arabic, etc.)
• an integral spelling checker
• MT integration with Google Translate

Marc has been a technical translator since 1988, working primarily from German to English. In 2002, he joined Keith Godfrey, the original author of OmegaT, to launch the program as an open-source (free) project. Since then, he has been involved in the project in various capacities, including 

• project co-ordination
• Match propagation
• authoring of manuals
• localization co-ordination
• website management and
• programming of auxiliary tools

He is a frequent source of advice and support on OmegaT user forums, contributed to the knowledge of the user community in many other online venues (including this blog) and has spoken on OmegaT at events in Germany and Belgium. He also introduced a module for computer-assisted translation tools, based on OmegaT, to the Professional Support Group (PSG) of the UK's Institute for Translation and Interpreting (ITI). He currently lives in Gelsenkirchen in the German federal state North Rhine-Westphalia.

The day will start with a conceptual overview for OmegaT, followed by a session demonstrating a sample project and responding to any questions from participants.

After lunch, the first afternoon session will present some extensions and advanced functions of OmegaT.

In the final session of the day, Marc will discuss “drawbacks that aren’t”, answer questions and debunk myths (appropriately entitled “Myths, FAQs and Workarounds”).

The workshop fee is €250 (€225 for Stridonium members), which includes a room at the venue for Sunday night arrivals who can enjoy an optional networking dinner and get a fresh start in the teaching sessions the next day. The availability of rooms included in the workshop fee is limited, so book early! 

The workshop is designed for translators and language project managers interested in the many possibilities for using this Open Source tool in their work.

Further information and updates can be found on the Stridonium events page, which also includes a button link for registration and payment ("Register for the Holten Lectures 3") below the course description.

You can also follow @stridonium on Twitter and watch the hash tags #strido and #Holten for announcements.

CPD points have been applied for with Bureau BTV in the Netherlands.

Previous Stridonium workshops in Holten have included corpus linguistics with the NIFTY method last June (participant's report here) and the recent teamwork day which presented ideas for overcoming distance in collaboration and using free and Open Source technologies as alternatives or addenda to more restrictive, proprietary commercial server solutions (participant's report here).

Future event plans include legal English for the insurance sector with a UK attorney and a series of three workshops on legal English for contracts (April 28, 2014), legal drafting (May 19, 2014) and commercial law (June 2, 2014) with attorney Stuart Bugg. These events would also interest practicing attorneys and others involved in the drafting and revision of contracts.

How to get there:
From Deventer(A1)

- Take the A1 towards Hengelo/Enschede

- Exit 26: Lochem/Holten

- Turn left for Raalte, follow the signs for Holterberg

- Go straight ahead over the roundabout, turn right after the viaduct and left at the T junction

- Turn left at the roundabout and after 50 m take a right turn for Holterberg

- After approx 1 km turn right (at yellow building)

From Enschede/Hengelo (A1)

- A1 towards Deventer/Apeldoorn/Amsterdam

- Exit 27: Holten/Markelo

- Continue through the center of Holten, take the Holterberg exit at the roundabout and after 50 m take a right turn for Holterberg

- After approx 1 km turn right (at yellow building)

By train

- A 10-minute walk from the station (Beukenlaantje)

 - Let the organizers know when you arrive and either they or hotel staff will collect you!