Rethinking Reputation By:Ann (Jiraporn) Heath-Huynh   Growing up in an Asian household, I believe that many of us were taught how to behave in such a way that we build and retain a good reputation in the eyes of society. Simply put, “Face-saving value is a cultural value...

A Matter of Due Process By Hilda Shymanik   About six years ago, I met a colleague during a short-lived, recurring five-day full-time freelance assignment, a 40-hour-a-week two-year contract. We were both Mexican and new to that courthouse, as was the coordinator. It was also a courthouse where...

What’s Going On in Our Field Right Now? By Julli Jaramillo   I’ve been keeping up with what’s been happening in our field, and I think now is a good time to update everyone. There’s a lot shifting right now, and it’s not all happening in one place. You see...

Warts and All  By Ángeles Estrada, M.A., F.C.C.I    The letters written to the judge by Spanish-speaking defendants in U.S. penitentiaries are hard to  read and time consuming to translate.   Because of the literacy level of most defendants, their letters are laden with spelling mistakes  and frequently as cryptic...

Self-Care as an Ethical Necessity By: Athena Matilsky Be kinder to yourself. Then let your kindness flood the world. -Pema Chödron Have you ever found yourself skipping lunch, losing sleep and working 12-hour days even though you were your own boss? A few years ago, I had a...

Let’s Test Your Ethics: The Digital “Assist” The NAJIT Observer Team   Honoring the Lunar New Year Before we turn to this month’s ethical discussion, we want to pause to recognize the Lunar New Year. For many communities around the world, this celebration marks renewal, reflection, and the beginning...

Playing The Infinite Game In Your Interpreting Career  By: Jiraporn-Ann H. Huynh With Special Credit To Contributor and Editor: Hilda Shymanik   I was at a dental event for an elite group of dental practitioners who don’t just fix teeth and collect money; they are highly specialized dentists whom...

Not An Infallible Technique, After All By Hilda Shymanik   Just recently, I was telling some colleagues how, since I started freelancing regularly in some of the best and interpreter-friendly courthouses in the area, I’ve found fewer topics to blog about. The reason? I rarely encounter situations that...

On Verbatim By Ángeles Estrada, M.A., F.C.C.I. Verbatim is a Latin expression that means “word for word,” and it is the golden rule for court-reporters whose charge it is to preserve the record. But, what about court interpreters? An interpreter's oath is different from the court reporter’s oath....

Beyond AI, Beyond the Conference Julli Jaramillo   AI is already part of our professional reality. Not as a concept we debate in the abstract during dinner, but as something that shows up in conversations about tools, ethics, training, expectations, and the future of our work. That context is...