Remote conferences with an Arabic-speaking client: a set-up checklist

A remote conference with an interpreter usually goes wrong for ordinary reasons: the wrong link, the wrong dialect, or no time left for the questions that matter. All three are preventable.

Before the day

• Name the dialect, not just “Arabic”. Give the client’s country and region when you book. If you are not sure, a free 30-minute dialect check will confirm it before you instruct.
• Send the joining details with the booking. Platform, link and a fallback telephone number in case the connection drops.
• Send the papers early. The statement, interview record or bundle lets the interpreter prepare the vocabulary of the case in the client’s variety, not just in general Arabic.
• Allow more time than you would in English. Everything is said twice. A one-hour English conference will not fit into one interpreted hour.
• For Prison Video Link, allow for the client being brought to the video room late, and keep your essential points at the start.

During the conference

• Speak in short segments and pause. Consecutive interpreting is most accurate in manageable units.
• Address the client directly (“Did you see him?”, not “Ask him whether he saw him”). The interpreter works in the first person.
• Expect the interpreter to intervene if something is unclear: “Interpreter requesting clarification.” That is accuracy, not interruption.
• Keep advice with you. The interpreter renders everything said and adds nothing, so do not ask them to explain the law or summarise. If a document needs reading to the client, send it in advance so it can be sight-translated accurately.
• Check confidentiality at the start. Confirm the interpreter is in a private room with no one else present and that the call is not being recorded.

After the conference

• Note any terms the client used that may matter later, such as a place name, a kinship term or a date given by the Islamic calendar. These are the points that cause apparent inconsistencies months later.
• For legally aided matters, I provide an itemised invoice and an attendance note as standard to support the claim.

Instructing me remotely

I work on Microsoft Teams, Zoom, HMCTS Cloud Video Platform (CVP), Prison Video Link and telephone, UK-wide. Remote interpreting is £50 per hour with a one-hour minimum and no travel charged. Legally aided work is charged at the LAA-prescribed rate.