Artificial intelligence is transforming the way legal professionals translate their documents. But beyond exact terminology and technical performance, one fundamental aspect remains too often underestimated: legal style.
At Lexa, we've designed our technology to meet not only the linguistic requirements, but also the stylistic codes specific to the language of law. A contract doesn't have the same structure as a judgment, a summons isn't written like a confidentiality agreement. Form is just as important as content.
Why is legal style essential in translation?
Legal style isn't just about formulas. It encompasses several key elements:
- The level of formality: from the strict, solemn tone of a notarial deed to the more neutral style of a legal report.
- Sentence structure: long and interwoven in some legal systems, more direct in others.
- Formatting: clause hierarchy, punctuation, numbering, standard capitalization.
- Consistency of terminology and syntax: essential in long, prescriptive texts.
A translation that does not respect these conventions may lose its clarity, or worse, its legal value.
Technology trained in legal style
Lexa is not a general-purpose translation engine. It has been designed exclusively for legal professionals. This means that we have integrated :
- Official multilingual legal corpuses (contracts, regulations, court rulings).
- Trained models by field (business law, labor law, litigation, tax law, etc.).
- The ability to select an appropriate register level, depending on the type of document or target jurisdiction.
By enabling domain detection or importing a custom glossary, you allow Lexa toadjust the form of the text as much as its content.
Example: translating a confidentiality agreement
Let's take a typical French clause:
"This confidentiality agreement applies to all information transmitted between the parties as part of their contractual relationship."
Basic translation (very correct linguistically but neutral):
"This confidentiality agreement applies to any information shared between the parties as part of their contractual relationship."
Optimized translation with Lexa, enhanced legal style (common law):
"This Non-Disclosure Agreement shall apply to all information disclosed between the Parties in connection with their contractual dealings."
Differences :
- Use of the modal "shall" (common in common law contracts).
- Capitalization of "Parties".
- Better rewording with "in connection with their contractual dealings" more idiomatic in an English contract.
How to refine your style with Lexa?
Lexa allows you to act on several levels to obtain a legally reliable and stylistically relevant rendering:
- Domain selection: to activate the appropriate engines (corporate law, criminal law, etc.).
- Add customized glossaries: integrate your own expressions, standard formulas and specific turns of phrase.
- Integrated layout engine: to respect the visual aspect of the source document.
- Human revision request: for a final check by an expert legal translator, if necessary.
Each step has been designed to meet the exacting requirements of legal professionals, without compromising on form or content.
What this means for you
Translate quickly, well and in the right style: that's what we let you do with Lexa.
More than a translation tool, Lexa is a specialized solution, built to reflect the stylistic standards of French, Anglo-Saxon, European law and beyond.
Would you like to test Lexa on your contractual models? Nothing could be simpler. Upload a document, choose your area of law, and let Lexa do the rest - with style.
