Face-to-Face Interpreting - Language Services Associates

Face-to-Face Interpreting Helps People

ENGAGE

TRUST

EVOLVE

Face-to-Face Interpreting Helps People

ENGAGE

TRUST

EVOLVE

Steven has a big trial coming up…

Steven, an established criminal attorney, has been preparing for this trial for months; he’s conducted his research, analyzed the evidence and prepared his closing statement. There is one thing that has been on Steven’s mind, however. The key witness that will be testifying on his client’s behalf is French and he speaks very little English. Steven is nervous about the language barrier. He knows that even the smallest misunderstanding has the potential to affect his client’s chance at a fair trial. The Court Administrator has assured Steven he has nothing to worry about. “We’ve hired a federally certified French interpreter,” she said. “We’ve been using this interpreter for years and she has a stellar reputation.” Steven knew he shouldn’t worry. Interpreters were used for trials all the time. Read More

On the third day of the trial the key witness is called to the stand. The interpreter does an excellent job relaying information between the two languages. Steven begins to relax. Just then, the witness is asked the most important question of the entire trial, the question that will keep his innocent client from going to jail. But there is no response from the interpreter! Why isn’t she repeating what he just said in English for the jury to hear? She appears to be going through her notes but isn’t saying anything! Steven starts to panic. He glances over at his client and see’s the look of fear in his eyes. He wants to intervene. He needs to intervene.

Just as Steven is about to speak up, the interpreter puts her notes down and repeats the statement in English. He takes one look at the jury and knows this is the defining moment of the trial. The jury just heard what they needed to hear to make their decision. His client is going to be okay. The witness is dismissed from the stand and the trial concludes for the evening.

As Steven later finds out, the interpreter wasn’t familiar with a slang word the witness used in his response. The brief pause was so that she could consult her notes and find an alternative meaning for the English translation. Steven leaves the courthouse that evening feeling relieved, hopeful and, most of all, thankful for a competent interpreter who delivered under pressure.

LSA helps people like Steven.

“LSA has a wonderful face-to-face interpreting department. They are quick to respond to our emergency language needs, and they consistently send the highest quality on-site interpreters. We have very diverse languages represented in our court system and LSA has always been able to fulfill our rare language requests.”

– Roseanne DiPrimio
First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

How Does It Work?

Meeting the needs of your diverse clients while containing costs often requires a combination of telephone, video remote and face-to-face interpreting services. While telephone interpreting is the fastest way to access an interpreter, there are times when on-site interpreting is more appropriate, such as lengthy meetings, group interviews, court proceedings and highly sensitive and complex medical appointments. We’ll work with you on an individual basis and help you determine when an interpreter should be at your side, rather than over the phone or at a computer.

Using our face-to-face interpreting service is easy! Just log-in to our completely secure online scheduling platform, place your request and wait for your confirmation e-mail. Select from consecutive and simultaneous interpreters in over 200 languages, including American Sign Language (ASL), anywhere across the globe. Visit our FAQs page and view our face-to-face interpreting quick facts to learn more.

Who's Using It?

Companies across the healthcare, education, government and legal sectors use our face-to-face interpreting service to provide professional language support with a personal touch…Learn More.

Why Should I Use LSA's Face-to-Face Interpreting Solutions?

When you choose us for face-to-face interpreting, you’ll receive high-quality interpretations, exceptional customer service and unlimited access to an easy-to-use online scheduling platform. Take advantage of our other solutions and manage your entire language services plan through one vendor! Here’s what you’ll get out of a partnership with us:

Qualified LinguistsCustomer Service Online Scheduling Platform

We promise to provide you with the most qualified on-site interpreters. Wondering how we deliver on this promise? All of our face-to-face interpreters go through a robust Interpreter Selection Process before being accepted into our network and becoming eligible to take assignments. During this time, we administer a series of tests to validate the candidate’s language proficiency and assess their interpreting skills. We then document the interpreter’s education, experience, certifications and areas of expertise, so that you’re matched with the most qualified interpreters best suited for your assignments. We also have a large pool of on-site interpreters who have passed rigorous government background checks and security clearances, and who have received the necessary immunizations to work in the medical setting. Whatever your specific service requirement may be, we’ll design a dedicated pool of interpreters just for you! Interested in learning more about our quality standards for face-to-face interpreters? Take a look at our six-step Interpreter Selection Process here.

Our goal is to be the customer service leader in the language services industry. One of the ways we’ll achieve this is to only hire friendly, passionate people that share our core values and obsession with customer service. When we asked our clients to rate us, 90% agreed that our employees’ accurately represent LSA’s customer service promise. So what does all this mean for you? It means when you place your trust in us you have a partner that truly listens to you and anticipates your needs. We’ll do everything in our power to exceed your expectations and make sure you have a positive experience, every time. Here’s what you can expect from us:

A dedicated Client Services department that’s devoted to providing professional, caring and timely support
24 / 7 live customer service support
A streamlined 8-step Client Services Feedback Process designed to document, investigate and resolve all client feedback
A robust 8-step Implementation Process for new clients
Refresher training and re-inservicing for existing clients
User education materials and interactive tutorials available on our Client Education Web Portal
The ability to contact a member of our Client Services team by phone, e-mail, live chat or social media with an average response time of 30 minutes (during standard business hours)
Dedicated and knowledgeable face-to-face interpreting coordinators who are available to help with all your assignment requests

With our easy-to-use online platform, you’ll be able to schedule, change and monitor all of your on-site interpreting requests with just the click of a button! The system also allows you to create and view billing reports and to sort them by language, date and location. No more waiting until the end of a billing cycle to analyze total spend. Our clients love being able to schedule interpretation assignments at their convenience without ever having to send an e-mail or pick up the phone! And if you do want to speak with someone directly, our dedicated and knowledgeable face-to-face interpreting coordinators are available and happy to help.