by Leonard Morin
On July 15 of this year, the New York City Bar Association hosted a virtual continuing legal education (CLE) panel discussion entitled “Best Practices in Working with Court Interpreters and Ethical Issues in Court Interpreting.” The New York Circle of Translators, ATA Law Division, and New York City Bar Association’s Criminal Courts Committee sponsored the event, which was an educational forum to instruct attorneys on what court interpreters do and how attorneys can best utilize their services. The panel was moderated by Jeffrey Linehan, a private criminal defense attorney and member of the 18b assigned counsel plan. The panel consisted of the honorable Doris Gonzalez, a Supreme Court Justice in Westchester County, Mariela Gómez, interpreter supervisor at Manhattan Criminal Court, Lionel Bajaña, a retired interpreter supervisor from Bronx Criminal and Supreme Courts, and yours truly.
Since the panel was directed to attorneys, who generally receive no training about working with interpreters, the first order of business was to explain the basics of what interpreters do. “What is interpreting?” “What is the difference between interpreting and translating?” “What are the three modes of interpreting?” The discussion also got into the topics of attorney-client conferences with interpreters, bilingual attorneys who forego the use of an interpreter in interviews, and interpreter working conditions, such as team interpreting and receiving prep materials for trials and hearings.
Around 75 people signed up of which 46 were in attendance live on the virtual presentation. The Bar informed us that the other 20 or so will watch the presentation on demand afterward to obtain the CLE credits. If more attorneys are interested in viewing the presentation and obtaining the CLE credits, they can sign up to watch the recorded video presentation on demand. When we organized the event, we wanted to obtain CLE approval from the Bar since it would encourage more attorneys to attend. Judge Gonzalez told us afterwards that 46 attendees is excellent turnout for a CLE training, especially in the middle of July.
This event had been in the works for about two years, when I first approached Anna Cominsky, chair of Criminal Courts Committee, as well as the New York Circle of Translators and ATA Law Division. Due to court protocols, the Interpreter Coordinator at the Office of Court Administration (OCA) and the Criminal Courts Committee required approval by the chain of command at OCA to get the green light. That approval process took about a year. Then we had to obtain the sponsorship of the full Criminal Courts Committee. Once we had all our approvals and sponsors, we had to get together our panel, develop a program, and apply for the CLE accreditation with the NYC Bar Association. Our organizing committee included Liz Herron-Sweet, vice-president of the New York Circle of Translators and administrator of the ATA Law Division, Roxana Bedia, member of the NYC Bar Criminal Courts Committee, Viktoryia Baum, president of the New York Circle of Translators, Michelle Berríos, then president of the New York Circle, and Anthony Alencar, program director of the Circle, moderator Jeffrey Linehan, and the members of the panel.
For the lawyers in attendance to receive the CLE credits, they had to fill out an evaluation survey after the event. The Bar shared the results with us, which were overwhelmingly positive. They included requests to do a follow-up training for lawyers about interpreting, which we are very eager to provide.
About the Author
Leonard Morin, a state and federally certified Spanish interpreter, is a staff interpreter at Manhattan Criminal Court. He is the former chair of the Court Interpreter Chapter of Local 1070, District Council 37, of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). He previously worked as a freelance translator and interpreter from 2004-2015. Leonard interprets Spanish and translates chiefly legal documents from Spanish, Dutch, and German into English. He earned a propedeuse degree in law in the Netherlands and graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Latin American Studies from Columbia University, where he won the 2004 Dr. Antonio G. Mier Prize for Excellence in Spanish and a Certificate in Recognition of Outstanding Achievement in the Study of German Language and Literature. Leonard also obtained a certificate from the Court Interpreter Training Institute (CITI) at the University of Arizona. He previously served separate terms as president and secretary of the New York Circle of Translators and as a delegate of his Local 1070. He has published numerous articles about translation, interpreting, and the T&I industry.