by Elizabeth Herron-Sweet
A Continuing Legal Education (CLE) panel designed to educate attorneys and judges on how to work more effectively with court interpreters. This timely event will explore the ethical, legal, and practical dimensions of language access in legal settings, offering strategies for maximizing the effectiveness of interpreter services both in the courtroom and beyond.
This initiative has been more than a year in the making. It began in April 2024 when longtime NYCT member and former President Leonard Morin proposed the idea. As a Staff Spanish Court Interpreter at Manhattan Criminal Court, Leonard has seen firsthand the challenges that arise when legal professionals lack a clear understanding of the interpreting profession. He eloquently addressed these concerns in his NAJIT blog post, If I Had the Ear of an Attorney or Judge for One Hour, which is a good preview of what will be discussed at the CLE event.
Recognizing the urgent need for this kind of education, NYCT and the ATA Law Division joined forces with Leonard and several of his colleagues to bring the idea to life. After navigating the necessary court system approvals, the team approached the NYC Bar Association’s Criminal Courts Committee, who enthusiastically agreed to co-sponsor and help organize the panel.
Once an official Bar Committee organizer was appointed, planning began in earnest. Representatives from the Criminal Courts Committee, staff interpreters, NYCT, and the ATA Law Division collaborated closely to develop a CLE proposal that would be both practical and impactful. The panel will be moderated by Criminal Courts Committee member and criminal defense attorney Jeffrey Linehan, and features the following panelists:
- Lionel Bajana, Retired Senior Court Interpreter, Bronx Criminal and Supreme Courts
- Mariela Gómez, Senior Court Interpreter, Manhattan Criminal Court
- Hon. Doris M. González, Justice of the Supreme Court, 12th Judicial District of New York
- Leonard Morin, Staff Spanish Court Interpreter, Manhattan Criminal Court
The NYC Bar Association approved the proposal, and the virtual event was officially scheduled for July 15, 2025. We are excited to share our knowledge with the legal community and hope this CLE fosters a deeper appreciation for the interpreting profession. Ultimately, we believe that better collaboration between legal professionals and interpreters will lead to more equitable and effective outcomes for all parties involved.
Registration is through the NYC Bar website here: https://www.nycbar.org/cle-offerings/best-practices-in-working-with-court-interpreters-and-ethical-issues-in-court-interpreting/
Given the cost of the webinar set by the NYC Bar ($199 for non-members), NYCT has agreed to sponsor two NYCT members to attend this webinar on July 15, to be selected by random drawing. NYCT members, check your email for the link to apply for the drawing!
About Liz:
Elizabeth joined ATA in 2015 and became certified in the Portuguese > English language pair in 2017. She was a founding member of the ATA’s Law Division in 2017 and has been that division’s Administrator since 2021.
She has a B.A. in International Studies with a concentration in Portuguese from Middlebury College and worked for six years as a paralegal at a large international law firm, first in New York City and then at the firm’s new office in São Paulo. Liz has now been a translator for nine years, specializing in legal, business and academic work. She holds a Certificate in English to Portuguese Translation from the New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies and a Certificate in Basic Training in Conference Interpreting from Versão Brasileira in Curitiba, Brazil.
Follow Liz on: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-herron-sweet-84224716/
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