After high school and college, training options for language professionals generally fall into two categories: university programs and continuing professional development (CPD) courses. Some university programs are designed for people who wish to specialize in legal language (for example, the McGill SCS Graduate Diploma in Legal Translation), but opportunities for continuing professional development are scarce. In this article, we provide an overview of the current training landscape and introduce a pilot project led by the McGill School of Continuing Studies to address the existing training gap.
Current professional development landscape
According to a July 2024 survey by the team headed by Marie-Hélène Girard, Assistant Professor and Academic Coordinator for the Graduate Diploma in Legal Translation, approximately twenty CPD activities on the topic of legal language were offered in Canada between June 2023 and June 2025, primarily by professional associations. While this may sound like a decent number of choices, a closer analysis reveals a lack of diversity in the topics covered. Furthermore, the offer is incomplete, since it is essentially limited to introductory-type and general courses.
What do legal language professionals think about these CPD courses? They agree. In a recent survey of legal language professionals across Canada (Girard, 2023), many respondents identified CPD as their main work-related challenge. They mentioned the incomplete nature of the offer (particularly concerning non-official languages and court interpreting), the lack of advanced and specialized courses, and a disconnect between the training offered and professional needs.
The conclusion is clear: the current CPD offer does not adequately meet the needs of Canada’s legal language professionals.
Mapping the training needs of legal language professionals
To better understand and specifically address the CPD needs of legal language professionals in Canada, our research team launched a new study. This study—and the series of legal language CPD workshops that are currently being offered at the McGill School of Continuing Studies—received financial support from Justice Canada’s Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund.
The study first gathered demographic and professional data from the respondents, who were then asked a series of questions designed to clarify their needs, preferences, and expectations in terms of CPD. We received and analyzed 125 complete responses. Notably, most respondents (71.2%) live in Quebec; it came as no surprise, then, that 69.6% of respondents reported French as their dominant language. A similar proportion (73%) also indicated working from English into French in their bilingual work activities (e.g., translation and co-drafting).
In terms of academic background, only 25.6% of legal language professionals have training in both language and law. This suggests that most professionals did not receive sufficient university training to work in the legal language professions, underscoring the need for continuing professional development, particularly for new entrants to the field. In terms of professional roles, the most reported functions are translation (84.0%) and revision (62.4%), with other activities such as post-editing, drafting, legal popularization, and interpreting being less prevalent. The top three legal specializations among respondents are administrative and constitutional law (48.8%), closely followed by immigration law (45.6%), and criminal law (40.8%).
Regarding prior participation in CPD activities, more than 80% of respondents reported having taken part in such activities within the previous three years. This is an encouraging indicator of strong interest in continuing professional development. Among those who reported not having participated in CPD activities during that period, the primary barriers cited were the cost of training, the lack of information about the training, and the absence of suitable activities. These findings emphasize the need to develop an affordable CPD offer aligned with the needs of the target audience.
In terms of subjects of interest, translation is by far the most popular CPD topic among legal language professionals, followed by revision and legal popularization. However, when respondents were asked to elaborate on their responses, the law in general emerged as the main subject of interest—well ahead of language technology, terminology, court interpreting, and post-editing. More specifically, there is a demand for both introductory courses on diverse legal topics (e.g., differences between civil law and common law, recent legislative changes in Quebec and Canada) and in-depth courses on specialized topics (e.g., class actions, principles of Indigenous law, criminal and penal law, immigration law, human rights law, and family law).
As for preferred training formats, online activities (such as workshops, lectures, and conferences) are the most popular, followed by self-guided learning, with in-person training lagging far behind. With respect to seasonal preferences, fall and winter are by far the preferred times for CPD activities, while weekday morning and afternoon activities outrank evening and weekend options.
More specialized opportunities for CPD
Several key insights emerge from this data. From a language perspective, English-to-French legal translation is the dominant practice in Canada. From a legal perspective, legal language professionals are eager for training options that cater to both “experts” and “beginners.” However, to be of value, even introductory-type courses must be sufficiently specialized.
In summary, this analysis highlights the need for a robust online CPD offering focusing on English-to-French legal translation and addressing a range of specialized legal topics, particularly those unique to the Canadian legal system. At the same time, it is essential to consider the needs expressed for training in other areas of legal language work, such as legal popularization and court interpreting.
By developing a tailored CPD offer for legal language professionals working in both French and English across Canada, McGill University plays a vital role in ensuring the long-term vitality of the country’s legal language professions.
Check out the Fall 2025 series of Workshops for Legal Language Professionals offered by McGill SCS:
- Mastering Context in Canada’s Legal Language Professions: The Tree and the Tuning Fork
- Workshop for Legal Language Professionals – An introduction to AI tools for translators and interpreters
- Workshop for Legal Language Professionals – Order in the Language! An Introduction to Legal and Court Interpreting
- Workshop for Legal Language Professionals – Objectif limpidité dans la traduction de textes juridiques (partie 1)
- Workshop for Legal Language Professionals – Objectif limpidité dans la traduction de textes juridiques (partie 2)
- Workshop for Legal Language Professionals – Table ronde sur l’encadrement de la relève en traduction juridique
Reference
Girard, Marie-Hélène. (2023). Portrait des professionnels, des professions et de l’industrie du langage du droit au Canada. Meta, Volume 68, no. 2, p. 309–340. https://doi.org/10.7202/1109340ar
About the author
Etienne Lehoux-Jobin works as a research assistant on Marie-Hélène Girard’s team, which focuses on topics related to language and the law in Canada, with a particular emphasis on legal translation and court interpreting in both official languages. A Japanese-to-French and English-to-French translator, he has a Ph.D. in Translation Studies from Université de Montréal.