French, Dutch and English: AI as support for multilingual legal work
Translating a sentence is not enough to preserve its legal meaning. A Belgian firm can still gain practical value from carefully organised multilingual preparation.
Prepare explanations for the client
A Dutch-speaking business works with a French-speaking supplier and reports to an English-speaking director. In this fictional example, the lawyer must explain the same point to three readers. AI can prepare working versions from a checked text while the team maintains one reference document.
The goal is not merely three polished pieces of writing. Conditions, exceptions and degrees of certainty must remain the same. A statement that a step is available must not become a promise that it will succeed.
Build a small glossary for the matter
The firm identifies sensitive terms and their context: court, procedural act, contract type or a party’s capacity. It records agreed translations and asks the tool to flag passages without a straightforward equivalent. Uncertainty then becomes a visible review item.
Multilingual institutional material can assist that review. Belgium’s Court of Cassation offers Tradcas among its publications. EUR-Lex also provides different language versions of European texts. These resources help check a term in context; they do not automatically transplant a Belgian rule into another country’s law.
Review changes in meaning
Comparison focuses on numbers, dates, negatives and words expressing obligations. A table places the source passage alongside its versions. The professional resolves ambiguities and identifies any version intended only to inform the client.
A working translation must not be presented as official or sworn. Where a particular formality is required, that requirement receives separate assessment. Faster preparation does not change the document’s status. The complete final text still needs substantive review rather than a quick check of a few difficult words.
Internationalise with a method
For Mashaah LLC, developing AILawyer in several languages means making information more accessible while preserving its Belgian context. Internationalisation of a legal tool also requires source links and understandable limitations. That consistency gives lawyers a concrete basis for assessing the service’s usefulness in everyday communication.
Sources and references
General information. Application to a matter depends on its facts and the rules in force.
