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Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

Doctor / Doctora (when not referring to physicians)

English translation:

lawyers' names don't have any title attached in English/you can add JD after the name to signify the legal qualification

Added to glossary by Erzsébet Czopyk
Mar 7, 2017 16:30
7 yrs ago
24 viewers *
Spanish term

Doctor / Doctora (when not referring to physicians)

Spanish to English Law/Patents Law (general)
Hi all,

I'm translating an "acta de audiencia de asignación" by means of which the legal custody of a child is granted to his adoptive parents.

All throughout the text they refer to the judge, lawyers, etc. as "Dr." and "Dra.", which I know is common in some Latin American countries. My question is, what would you do when translating these titles into English? Remove them and just use their names without any titles? Change them for Mr or Mrs?

Thanks in advance
Proposed translations (English)
4 +1 mainly not
5 Counsel (lawyer) / Judge or Your Honor (Judge)
4 Various (this is only a rough guide and is based on England & Wales)
2 ESQ.
Change log

Mar 8, 2017 18:28: Erzsébet Czopyk Created KOG entry

Mar 8, 2017 18:29: Erzsébet Czopyk changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/122736">Erzsébet Czopyk's</a> old entry - "Doctor / Doctora (when not referring to physicians)"" to ""lawyers' names don't have any title attached in English""

Discussion

Sandro Tomasi Mar 8, 2017:
Olivia, would you be able to give us some context?
Sandro Tomasi Mar 8, 2017:
In US a JD denotes a student who obtained her juris doctor, while Esq. or Attorney at Law denotes an attorney, i.e., someone who passed the bar and is licensed to practice law.
Christian [email protected] Mar 8, 2017:
No need to be rude. In the US, these abbreviations/titles ARE used, and while the asker appears to be in the UK, we don't know where the translated document is going.
AllegroTrans Mar 8, 2017:
@ Erzsébet We are speaking of UK English here, not Hungary or Slovakia. This abbreviation, let me assure you, is simply NOT used in UK English when giving lawyers' names in court reports or orders.
Erzsébet Czopyk Mar 8, 2017:
@AllegroTrans you can does not mean you shall do it. From Slovak to HU some translators are leaving the JUDr, telling than in Slovakia the title is a part of the name, I never do it. But this is still an option which exists. I would use "Dr. John Doe, attorney at law"
@veronicaes:
Mr., Mrs. and Ms. we use only in the beginning of a correspondence but never in documents.
Happy translating to all female colleagues :)
AllegroTrans Mar 8, 2017:
Asker, on your selected answer If you are translating for the UK, please let me assure you that I have worked with the E&W court system for more than 40 years. "JD" is NEVER added to the name of a lawyer.
veronicaes Mar 7, 2017:
I prefer Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. rather than not using anything at all.
Sandro Tomasi Mar 7, 2017:
Olivia, Could you provide context?
Robert Forstag Mar 7, 2017:
You can either replace "Dr./Dra." with Mr./Mrs./Ms. (as appropriate) or simply not use any title. The latter is my own preference, and no client has ever objected.

Proposed translations

+1
9 mins
Selected

mainly not

UK English:
http://www.proz.com/kudoz/spanish_to_english/certificates_di...
"I've generally gone with the rule that lawyers' names don't have any title attached in English. In a formal or academic sense you could add JD after the name to signify that they have a legal qualification "

US English:
http://www.formsofaddress.info/Lawyer.html

John Doe, JD
John Doe, attorney at law
John Doe, JD, MBA, Attorney at Law

In my country we use the DR. before the names like Dr. Kovács János ügyvéd (Dr. John Doe, lawyer)
In the neighbouring Slovakia, they put everywhere JuDr before the name, even for the notaries.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 11 mins (2017-03-07 16:41:41 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"Use of Esq. is important among the ethics rules of the legal profession which require communications from an attorney (on one side) be with the opposing side's attorney rather than directly with the opposing side.
Esq. and J.D. are not used in combination."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 13 mins (2017-03-07 16:44:04 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

http://www.economist.com/blogs/johnson/2013/03/professional-...
Peer comment(s):
agree Aileen Nieto : Agree. Is a bad habit in Spanish to name lawyers Dr. or Dra. even if they dont have PHD degrees, that would be the only real reason to call them Dr. or Dra. It is better not to use it in a translation.
51 mins
Thank you, Aileen!
neutral AllegroTrans : "JD" is NEVER added to a lawyer's name in any form of court document that I have ever seen in over 40 years of legal practice
1 day 1 hr
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
13 mins

Counsel (lawyer) / Judge or Your Honor (Judge)

When addressing a lawyer or judge.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Robert Forstag : That's fine when said parties are being directly addressed, but the Asker's query does not involve direct address of the individuals in question.
11 mins
Something went wrong...
7 hrs

Various (this is only a rough guide and is based on England & Wales)

Everything depends on who is adressing whom.
Lawyers, referring to one another during an address to the court use various forms, e.g.

- learned Counsel
- my learned friend
- my friend
- my opponent

When being referred to in a report/transcript I think it is perfcetly acceptable use Mr/Mrs/Miss

When referring to a Judge, there are one or two possibilities, but all depends on the level of the Judge:

- Judge X (lower courts)
- His/her Honour Judge X (middle courts)
- The Honourable Mr/ Mrs Justice X (higher courts)





--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 hrs (2017-03-08 00:52:17 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

But I would never use Mr/Mrs/Miss for a Judge
Something went wrong...
8 hrs

ESQ.

My (Danish) father used to say that in my native Venezuela all you needed to be called "Doctor" was to wear glasses.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Robert Forstag : Haha. It seems that anyone with a university degree is eligible for the title.
21 mins
My father didn't.... ;-)
neutral AllegroTrans : Not in current use in English (at least not in UK); very dated and never seen in court transcripts/orders
12 hrs
Interesting. In the US, very common.
Something went wrong...
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