OUR STORY
Built from legal-sector experience. Focused on service that matters.
First Translation & Consultancy was founded in 2022, originally as First Translation Ltd, from first-hand experience of the challenges legal professionals can face when sourcing reliable translation and interpreting services.
Why we started
First Translation & Consultancy was founded in 2022, originally as First Translation Ltd, by a founder with a background in criminal defence, whose experience within the legal sector provided first-hand insight into the challenges solicitors and law firms can face when sourcing reliable translation and interpreting services.
The idea for the business grew out of direct professional experience, as well as conversations with peers and colleagues across the legal sector. There was a recurring concern: legal professionals often depended on language services in urgent and sensitive matters, yet the level of quality, reliability and communication was not always consistent.
Missed deadlines, variable standards, difficulties obtaining timely updates and a lack of understanding of the practical demands of legal work could all create unnecessary pressure for firms and, ultimately, for the clients they were representing.
This was particularly noticeable in the Legal Aid sector.
BRIDGING THE GAP
Premium standards within the realities of Legal Aid work.
We saw a clear opportunity to bring the level of service more commonly associated with private-sector work into legally aided matters, while still working within the practical and financial requirements of Legal Aid funding. Our aim was to bridge that gap.
From the outset, we wanted to demonstrate that working within applicable Legal Aid rates did not have to mean compromising on accuracy, professionalism, responsiveness or client care. The objective was simple: to provide a premium standard of translation and interpreting service while remaining commercially realistic for legally aided work.
Our legal background played an important role in shaping that approach. Having worked in criminal defence, we understood that solicitors do not simply need a document translated or an interpreter booked. They need a provider who appreciates the importance of court dates, hearings, conferences, evidential material, client sensitivities, confidentiality and strict procedural deadlines.
That understanding allowed us to build our service around the priorities of the people instructing us.
HOW WE EVOLVED
From First Translation Ltd to First Translation & Consultancy Ltd.
As the business developed, our relationships with law firms, businesses and other professional clients highlighted a wider need for practical support beyond language services alone. Clients were increasingly seeking guidance and consultancy in areas connected to their operational and professional requirements.
That natural expansion led to the business becoming First Translation & Consultancy Ltd.
Today, we provide professional translation, interpreting, transcription and proofreading services, including specialist support for legal and Legal Aid matters, alongside consultancy services developed around the wider needs of the firms and organisations we work with.
WHAT HAS NOT CHANGED
The principle behind the business remains the same.
Although the company has expanded, the principle behind it has remained the same since 2022: understand what the client genuinely needs, communicate clearly, maintain high professional standards and deliver a reliable service when it matters.
For us, translation and interpreting are not simply about converting words from one language to another. They are about helping professionals and their clients communicate accurately, confidently and effectively, often at critical moments.