Markus Langer – Legal Translator

• Master of Laws (LL.M.) Degree after Studies of Contract Law and Contract Design at Danube University Krems
• University Degree in International Business Administration Studies at Vienna University of Economics and Business
• University Degree in Law at University of Vienna
• Professional Experience as Canditate Lawyer and as Legal Intern

You are invited to download my CV.

I am an expert in two fields at the same time: translating and law. I possess solid knowledge of European, German, Austrian, British and American law.

I  have drafted judgments and agreements myself and I am aware that every single word in my source texts is chosen with care. Consequently, my mission is to translate every single word with care. I do not translate any sentence until I have come to fully understand the meaning of.

Translating legal texts is demanding. I know from my experience as proofreader: many offer it, many make serious mistakes. Some believe that the translation doesn't need to preserve the exact meaning, as long as it sounds "legal". Others believe that the official wording of European or national regulations is a mere recommendation, so that it is not worth a deeper research. Finally, many believe that they don't need to understand the source text since it can't be wrong to translate every word as it appears in the dictionary. The list of mistakes could be continued at length.

I am not the fastest translator in the market. For fully understanding the source text, I do not want to rush. That means that I sometimes spend a whole day translating 1,500 words English to German or 1.000 words German to English. My work style benefits you as well - after all it is not my time but the quantity of my translation that is the basis of my rate. If I anticipate that I cannot deliver the desired quality at the desired deadline, I will inform you right at the beginning.

I am working with SDL Trados Studio 2015. This ensures consistent wording throughout my translations including subsequent orders.

To have a lot of interests is a blessing and a curse at the same time. As a young legal intern I was advised by a judge to specialise in a narrow field in order to have a career in law. Yet, I could not follow his advice. I was too much interested to discover all the other fields that helped me to understand the world and too little tempted by having a career. That is why I studied international business administration, wrote my thesis in evolutionary economics and worked as a business consultant. In my private time, I read a lot about philosophy, history and natural sciences. Nevertheless, I have always considered myself primarily as a legal expert. My last job before becoming self employed was at a law office. I loved solving legal problems. Litigation however was not my thing. Therefore, I decided to focus on one activity that I have always loved: translating. And although I speak French and Spanish as well, I am only offering the combination English-German. Because I believe, the more specialised I work, the higher the quality that I can offer.