1. Legal Translation Services
Pitmans LLP case study
Global Lingo provided translations and other linguistic services to Pitmans LLP, a full service
law firm based in the Thames Valley, for Pitmans Business Immigration (PBI) website,
PBIvisa.com.
The site provides specialist expertise to guide businesses and individuals through the often
challenging world of Business Visas and UK Work Permits. We supplied Arabic, Brazilian
Portuguese and Simplified Chinese translation and proofreading from the original English
text.
All linguists involved in this project were certified experienced translators and were also very
familiar with all intricacies of the law. More to that, each of them translated the texts in their
native languages. Therefore they could provide very accurate legal translations
Once the translations had been delivered and applied to the website, the team at Pitmans
took advantage of our Global Usability Testing service.
Despite the rigorous quality of the translations we provide, errors can be introduced when
these translations are converted into their final webpage form, especially when non-linguists
carry out the work. It is often the case that several small but important tweaks can be made
that will make a big difference to the experience of the website’s users in its target markets.
2. Our Global Usability Test provides peace of mind that translated and localised websites will
display and work as they should for users who use languages other than English.
“The team at Global Lingo were excellent throughout,
providing a fast response to any query, turning around
requests for content within time frames and adding
value with their Usability service. We are now
considering further projects with their support.”
Pitmans LLP Head of Marketing
Global Usability Testing
We carried out an initial assessment on the site to check for the service, and to prepare
guidelines and tips for the linguists carrying out the testing work. The linguists who had
provided proofreading services on the project were asked with carrying out the interface and
usability testing.
The linguists accessed the live pages and tested their usability, assessing both the overall
experience on the site and the individual experience on each page. They approached the
review from the perspective of users in the target markets, as web users around the world
have varying expectations, and what is considered important in one part of the world might
not be in another. Each prepared a detailed report, which was returned to Global Lingo.
We collated these reports and presented them to Pitmans. Trends and key issues found in
all languages were identified. This allowed us to explain the most important points requiring
action first, with more detailed suggestions given for each language later in the report.
Ensuring perfect localised usability
In the process of carrying out the testing, various small tweaks were discovered that could
improve the user experience in each language, although the overall quality of localisation
was high.
3. Some serious issues were discovered that had been introduced in the setup process, after
translations had been completed.
The most serious was that some of the main navigation and the page titles on the
Simplified Chinese site had been introduced from an external source, rather than
from the translations originally provided by Global Lingo. These had been provided
using the Traditional Chinese writing system, which was inconsistent with the
Chinese page content and not appropriate to the target market. The report detailed
the corrections to be made here, and we offered assistance in seeing through these
edits.
The flag used to navigate to the Brazilian Portuguese site was found to be the
Portuguese flag, rather than the Brazilian flag. We recommended that this be
changed, to ensure that Brazilian users knew that the site was aimed at them.
The contact phone number provided to overseas users required some tweaking to
make it easier to use from abroad, by adding an international dialling code (+44), and
possibly providing a standard landline number instead of an 0800 number, as some
overseas telecom providers may only support international calls to a geographic
number (with an area code).
Original English
5. Arabic translation
About Pitmans LLP
Pitmans is the largest law firm in the Thames Valley, with offices in Reading and in the City
of London. They deliver corporate legal advice nationally, regional and locally, offering an
expert and efficient service across a wide range of practice areas.
Pitmans is a founding partner of MI InterAct, an international professional services network
that collaborate for the benefit of their multi-national clients. Rated highly in the influential
Legal 500 and Chambers Directories, Pitmans continue to be industry award-winners.
Pitmans are a full-service law firm and can assist with your business or personal legal
requirements.
