Historia
Capelle Spears Legal Translations LLC ("CSLT") was founded in March 2013 by Matthew R. Capelle, Esq., in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 2016, the company was relocated to San Diego, California, due to its proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border. Since then, we have been providing highly accurate and expert translations to many different So-Cal law firms, agencies, and organizations on both sides of the border, along with international and multinational companies.
Why Capelle Spears?
Legal Translation is a highly difficult and arduous task. It not only requires a comprehensive grasp of both the source and target languages, but it also requires the ability to provide an accurate and eloquent rendering of the native text into the target language. In addition, languages are dynamic, meaning they are constantly evolving, so we too need to evolve.
The translation of legal texts from Spanish to English (and vice versa) first requires an understanding of the civil law and common law systems, and this cannot be developed by merely memorizing terminology.
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Although knowledge in English, Spanish, Legal English, and Legal Spanish is beneficial, the legal translator must have a thorough understanding of the type of law in which the term is being used to know whether the term in question is freely translatable between the two legal systems or if more work is required. Understanding and being able to identify these nuances is the backbone of a good translation due to legal's highly technical nature and difficulty--it's challenging even for native speakers to understand the terms employed, especially since there are several terms whose meaning in everyday use has absolutely nothing to do with its legal meaning. So, understanding these terms and concepts in both languages (and both legal systems) is necessary for a legal translator and requires significant training and expertise. This is the advantage CSLT has over most companies. We know and understand the law, which translates into an accurate rendering of any legal source material.
Matthew Capelle
Hello! My name is Matthew Capelle, Esq. I founded Capelle Spears Legal Translations (CSLT) in 2013, after living and working in Mexico City for 13 years. In 2004, I began my legal studies at the Instituto Mexicano Autónomo de México, graduating in 2009 with a Bachelor of Law (LL.B) Degree, and practiced for another 4 years. I first started at Bufete Ocampo, a highly prestigious boutique firm that specializes in insurance law, which, if you're a history buff, at the time was located a few feet away from Leon Trotsky's former home in Coyoacan, Mexico City. I then moved on to the international law firm, Basham, Ringe y Correa, where I worked under Javier Becerra, who developed the renowned English<>Spanish Legal Dictionaries, used by thousands of attorneys throughout Mexico. After four years, I began working for the American labor and employment law firm, Littler Mexico until I moved back to study a Master of Law (LL.M) degree at the University of Minnesota in 2014.
In 2016, I moved to San Diego, California, due to its proximity to the Mexican border, bringing CSLT with me. I was married in 2017 to my beautiful wife, Anna, and we now raise our two wonderful and beautiful daughters, Elizabeth and Avery, and our cat, Jackson. Today, I have over 15 years’ experience in drafting, editing, reviewing, and translating all types of legal documents. Additionally, I am licensed to practice law in Mexico and California, and I currently work as a senior associate attorney at the immigration firm Vidal Law Firm while also assisting translators improve their legal translation skills.