SOME PERSONAL DETAILS...

I was born and grew up in Scotland, with an English and Italian family background. I feel equally at home in Scotland and Italy and have mixed allegiances!
At age 16 I moved to northern Italy where I finished school, and over the next 12 years moved a lot around Europe (to date I have lived in nine different cities in four countries).
My Italian is practically native speaker level and it continues to be the main language of my home. However, as English was my dominant language at school and university, I only ever translate into English, other than the occasional translation into Scots.


WORK...

I started working as a translator in the year 2000, translating academic law articles from German into English.
At present I work full time as a translator and translate more than 1 million words per year.
My work is divided about equally between agencies and direct clients. I work with agencies throughout Europe and North America, and my direct clients include the whole range of legal professionals: international organisations, courts, multinationals, academics & publishers.


LANGUAGES OFFERED...

My main working source languages are Italian and German.
Having studied law at Italian and German universities, and legal theory at a Belgian university, I have a very strong command of Italian (including familiarity with several dialects), French and German in legal contexts.
I have considerable experience translating Swiss variants of German, French and Italian.
I am also fully comfortable working from Spanish.
On occasion, I have also translated from Dutch and Portuguese.


UNIQUE SELLING POINT...

* Alongside a law degree and a PhD in legal theory, I have also studied Italian and German law, as well as comparative law at post-graduate level. As such I am comfortable navigating my way around both source and target legal systems, and am acutely aware of the comparative law issues that can arise during translation.

* Having graduated in law in Scotland, which has a mixed legal system, I find it relatively straightforward to operate in both common law and civilian legal systems.

* I have a very strong conceptual grasp of the content of what I am translating, and will have the confidence to provide more discursive translations where this is necessary in order for a concept to be understood by a person from a different legal culture.

* Similarly, I will be able to point out any content-related mistakes or ambiguities in the source text.

* I have a very fast turn-around rate for all languages, and exceptionally fast turn-around for Italian.


QUALIFICATIONS...

LLB (Hons) Scots law with German law, 1st class, University of Aberdeen (2002).
LLM Legal Theory, magna cum laude, EALT Brussels (2003).
MRes Master of Research in Law, EUI Florence (2004).
PhD in legal theory, EUI Florence (2007).


PUBLICATIONS...

When still in academia, several articles of mine dealing with legal issues were published in peer reviewed journals:

* ‘A Reassessment of Historical Perspectives on Specificatio and the Requirement of Good Faith’ (2002) Scottish Law and Practice Quarterly 180-190
* ‘Commercial Impossibility and Frustration of Purpose: a Critical Analysis’ (2003) Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence 129-145
* ‘Legal Positivism and Scottish Common Sense Philosophy’ (2005) Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence 277-305
* From Metaphysics to Transcendentalism: the concept of 'ought' in legal theory (LAP, Saarbrücken, 2010)

In addition, a considerable number of my translations have been published or for official use.

From German
R. Frank, “Adoption by Unmarried Cohabitants, Same-sex Couples and Single Persons in Europe” in A.J. Hawkins et al. (eds), Revitalizing the Institution of Marriage for the Twenty-First Century: An Agenda for Strengthening Marriage (Greenwood, 2002), 121-132
J. Ziller (ed), European Constitution - Cases and Materials in EU and Member States' Law (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2007), excerpts from German, French and Italian
H. Mohnhaupt, “The Object of Interpretation: Legislation and Competing Normative Sources of Law in Europe during the 16th to 18th Centuries” in Y. Morigiwa et al (eds), Interpretation of Law in the Age of Enlightenment (Springer, 2011)

EC Office for the Harmonization of the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs), Boards of Appeal
[full list in CV]

From French
N. de Sadeleer, “Procedures for Derogations from the Principle of Approximation of Laws under Article 95 EC” (2003) 40 Common Market Law Review 889-915
N. de Sadeleer, “The Rights of Audience of Environmental Protection Agencies before the Belgian Courts” in de N. Sadeleer, G. Roller & M. Dross (eds), Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, (Groningen: Europa Law Publishing, 2004)
S. Bélier, “Access to Justice in Environmental Law Matters in France” in de N. Sadeleer, G. Roller & M. Dross (eds), Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, (Groningen: Europa Law Publishing, 2004)
D. Van der Meersch, “The ICC Statute and Belgian Law” (2004) 2 Journal of International Criminal Justice 133-157
N. de Sadeleer, “EC Law and Biodiversity”, in R. Macrory (ed.),  Reflections on 30 Years of EU Environmental Law: A High Level of Protection? (Groeningen: Europa Law publishing, 2004), 351-368.
N. de Sadeleer, “Waste, Products and By-products” (2005) Journal of European Environmental & Planning Law, 46-58
N. de Sadeleer, “EC Waste Law or How to Juggle with Legal Concepts: Drawing the Line beween Waste, Residues, Secondary Materials, By-products, Disposal and Recovery Operations” (2005) 2(6) Journal of European Environmental & Planning Law, 46-58.
N. de Sadeleer, “Habitats Conservation in EC Law: from Nature Sanctuaries to Ecological Networks” (2005) 5 Yearbook of European Environmental Law, 215-252
N. de Sadeleer “EC Law to the Rescue of Wildlife under Threat: the Birds, Habitats and Environmental Liability Directives” in Yearbook of European Environmental Law (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005)
N. de Sadeleer, “Case C-1/03 Paul Van der Walle, Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 7 September 2004” (2006) 43 Common Market Law Review, 207-223

French Constitutional Council
Available online at: http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/english/priority-preliminary-rulings-on-the-issue-of-constitutionality/decisions-of-the-constitutional-council-qpc.48658.html.
Decisions: no. 108 of 2010, no. 110 of 2010, no. 113/115 of 2011, no. 116 of 2011, no. 120 of 2011, no. 125 of 2011, no. 126 of 2011, no. 129 of 2011, no. 135 of 2011, no. 631 of 2011, no. 133 of 2011, no. 632 of 2011, no. 151 of 2011, no. 635 of 2011, no. 625 of 2011, no. 162 of 2011, no. 106 of 2011, no. 163 of 2011, no. 173 of 2011, no. 174 of 2011, no. 181 of 2011, no. 102 of 2011, no. 183-184 of 2011, no. 192 of 2011, no. 191 of 2011, nos. 194-197 of 2001, nos. 199-201 of 2011, no. 203 of 2011, nos. 207-208 of 2011, nos. 210-213 of 2011, nos. 217-218.


From Dutch
Plumex v Young Sports [2005] International Litigation Procedure 47 (Westlaw)
Euro Boat v Team Boat [2006] International Litigation Procedure 15 (Westlaw)
Philips v Postech, Decision of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands of 19 March 2004, Sweet and Maxwell, published on Westlaw

From Italian
G. Liotta, “National Report: Italy”, Project for Real Property and Procedure in the European Union, European University Institute, 2005
Italian Industrial Property Code, Sweet and Maxwell, published on Westlaw

ECJ Preliminary References

Cases C-3/10; C-255/10; C-310/10; C-507/10.

ECJ Advocate General Opinions

Case C-275/09.

EC Office for the Harmonization of the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs), Boards of Appeal
[full list in CV]


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