ILETA is proud to open the registration for the ILETA Online Winter School which will take place online.

ILETA IS PROUD TO UNVEIL OUR WINTER SCHOOL SPEAKERS

Winter School Speaker: Patrizia Giampieri, University of Perugia

Title of Presentation: Comparing students’ with chatbot-driven legal translations

Abstract

The increased reliance on GenAI and chatbots has led several scholars to investigate their potentials and usefulness in translator training (Briva-Iglesias et al., 2024; Moneus and Sahari 2024; Alwazna et al. 2025). Nonetheless, few studies have focused on the legal field.

This paper is aimed at exploring and assessing the employability of GenAI in legal translator training. More precisely, it examines whether and how chatbot-powered legal translations can be harnessed to help students in Translation Studies develop critical thinking and analytical skills.

For this purpose, 38 Master’s students were involved in a translation project. They firstly translated an extract of a contract clause from English (their L1) into Italian (their L2). To perform the task, they could consult any language resource except for AI/chatbots.

They were then exposed to several chatbot-based translations of the source text, thereby comparing their outputs with the ones produced by intelligent machines. The chatbots employed for this investigation were both field-related (such as Aptus AI and ChatLaw) and general (i.e., ChatGPT and Copilot).

The findings indicate that the students’ language resources were often untargeted, thereby giving rise to a few translation infelicities and shortcomings. This was probably due to the students’ scarce familiarity with legal language and/or with legal translation. On the other hand, GenAI-driven translations appeared as quite satisfactory and were successfully mainstreamed in translator training. Namely, automated target texts helped reflect on possible or alternative translation options, thus providing language solutions that had not been considered. Other times, conversely, erroneous or inaccurate target words or phrases allowed students to notice differences, ask for explanations, and possibly retain adequate legal language conventions and patterns. In this respect, the pivotal role of the lecturer was essential to guarantee the correct interpretation and adjustments of chatbot-powered outputs.

Biography

Patrizia Giampieri, MSc, PhD, is an Associate Professor of English at University of Perugia(Italy). She is a member of the Executive Board of EST (European Society for Translation Studies), and of the Scientific Committee of ILETA (International Legal English Teacher’s Academy). She is a court interpreter and translator. She has authored books and academic papers on English as a second language, legal English and legal translation, corpus-based translation, machine translation, AI-driven translation. Her last scientific monographs are titled “Legal Formulae: Exploring legal multi-words in English, Italian and French” (Palgrave MacMillan, 2025).

ILETA Winter School Speaker: Tonya Teichert- T Squared

Title of Presentation

AI Generated Negotiations

ABSTRACT

Are you struggling to find creative ways to cover legal vocabulary and concepts with your students? Are you tired of spending endless hours trying to create activities that will reinforce learning while engaging your students? Are you hesitant to utilize AI in your practice? Well, don’t worry, I got you!

In this presentation we will cover how to create focused negotiation exercises using AI as a tool to help your students work with the language in a collaborative and fun way. We will cover prompts you can use to ensure that you are creating targeted, accurate, and engaging negotiation exercises that you can use with all levels.

We will also cover how you can use these exercises to create a semester of connected activities for your students.

ABOUT TONYA TEICHERT

BIOGRAPHY

Tonya Teichert is an American living in Germany who has been teaching Medical & Legal English for 17 years. Her background began in critical care nursing where she used those skills to begin a career as a Legal Nurse Consultant.

She went on to attend law school and upon completion, received her MBA. She worked, primarily, in insurance defense and medical malpractice and product liability litigation. After moving to Germany, she began teaching specialized language courses for both private clients and institutions, including doctors, nurses, nursing students, medical organizations, corporate legal seminars, and university legal programs, as well as training-the-trainer courses for Occupational Health and Safety.

Tonya is ILETA Country Ambassador for Germany and a Member of the Scientific Committee.

ILETA Winter School Speaker: Natalia Luna, LCT LEX CITY

Title of Presentation: Why AI Can´t Defeat Bilingual Lawyers

Abstract

In a world with plenty of uncertainty about what professionals will devote to after proving that AI apparently performs well at all levels, I am going to explain why AI can never defeat bilingual lawyers.
Jurisdictional nuances, different legal systems in force, cultural legal weight of specific terminology, knowledge of judicial precedents, and legal reasoning will still make the difference.
Join me to learn more about En<>Sp terminology and tips regarding Civil vs. Common Law countries.

Biography

I’m an Argentinian Attorney and Sworn Translator specialized in law-related matters. I’m a Court Interpreter and legal English training instructor as well as a University Professor of Legal English Language and Legal Translation at UMSA University in Buenos Aires. I have been ILEC certified since 2016 and I also train lawyers in Sp-En law, legal terminology and cultural differences. I am a lecturer, and I enjoy helping colleagues move forward in their careers.

ILETA Winter School Speaker : Sue Leschen, Avocate Legal and Business French Services Ltd

Title of Presentation

Workshop: AI – Interpreters’ Best Friend or Worst Enemy?

Abstract

Imagine this, you are the defence interpreter faced with a witness whose English accent is problematic (a mix of Scottish and possibly Arabic).

How to interpret with accuracy to the court?

No worries, simply switch on your Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) button and all will be well! Except that it isn’t.

The ASR function does not appear to function properly where a Scottish accent is involved but worse than that appears to be “scrambling” names of English and Scottish people and places being referred to.

So should I stay or should I go as far as ASR is concerned? I have to make a quick decision because I am in danger of messing up this assignment badly. If I get it wrong so will my client the defendant who is peering over my shoulder at my screen (I wish that he wasn’t doing this) because he is becoming more and more irate as my ASR continues on it’s merry way typing the witness’s speech but without necessarily always making much sense. Frankly, it would probably be better to use my notepad and pen…..

The other issue that is worrying me is that whilst I try to focus on the witness whilst she is testifying (speech and body language both) my attention is being diverted to what is being printed across my screen by my new best friend AI. There are times when I really don’t know where to look!

Finally, I hear one of the lawyers refer to some legal English terminology that I am not sure how to interpret (with or without the “benefit” of my AI research tools for that matter). In the interests of speed I check it out using AI but then slow myself down because I am unconvinced that AI has rendered the correct meaning for this particular context and now need to start checking my own glossaries prepared for similar cases I have already worked on.

I have a legal background (UK qualified but now non – practising solicitor) and can draw on that background but a colleague who is not so fortunate may just blindly accept whatever AI produces.
I know that AI is being improved every minute of every day but, right now in my opinion it isn’t a reliable friend (at least not in a court room it isn’t).

Biography

Lawyer – linguist with 23 years experience in the field who has married her twin passions of law and languages together. Director of UK based niche market company Avocate specialising in legal and business French Interpreting and translation.
Fellow of CIOL and ITI and member of ITI’s Law, Insurance, Finance Committee and also of CIOL’s Interpreting Division Steering Committee. An ISO/ BSI representative for the Association of Translation Companies (ATC). Also member of the professional conduct committees of NRCPD and CIOL.

ILETA Winter School Speaker: Karolina Karczmarek-Giel, Independent

Title of Presentation

Safe & Ethical AI Use in Legal English, Translation and Interpreting

Abstract

Generative AI is already reshaping how legal texts are drafted, translated and checked, yet many classroom tasks and professional workflows still ignore the confidentiality, IP and reputational risks of “just trying” an AI tool.

This hands‑on workshop helps Legal English teachers and educators of legal translators/interpreters build AI‑risk literacy into their courses. After a rapid, practical overview of what AI can and can’t do with legal language (accuracy, sources, hallucinations), participants map three risk areas:

(1) data privacy & confidentiality (privilege, NDAs, personal data),

(2) intellectual property and ownership of outputs, and

(3) reputational/quality risk when AI errors reach clients or assessment.

Participants then run three classroom‑ready activities: anonymisation & safe‑prompting drills; an AI‑output audit of a short legal clause/translation; and a mini “policy sprint” to adapt a Personal AI Usage Policy for their context.

Takeaways include printable handouts plus links to encrypted file‑transfer and local/offline AI options.

Biography

Karo is a web and systems developer specialising in stable, maintainable digital setups for exacting professionals. She works with language professionals and other experts in regulated contexts, focusing on data protection, confidentiality, intellectual property, and the practical limits of AI tools. 

Karo uses AI in her own work and teaches calm, risk-aware approaches to AI adoption that prioritise accuracy, professional responsibility, and long-term reliability.

ILETA Winter School Speaker:

Anna Setkowicz-Ryszka

Title of Presentation

Can you expect satisfactory translation or post-editing of legal documents from LLMs?

Abstract

This paper is an off-shot of a workshop for Polish lawyers in which the author tried to examine whether one starts with a detailed comparison of translations of two Polish texts from the field of law – an abstract of a journal article and a power of attorney – into English and one English text – a car rental contract –into Polish.

The translations were prepared using two DeepL engines (classic and new-gen) and two LLM-based tools: ChatGPT and Perplexity in November 2025.

Both LLM-based tools have the potential for improvement compared to neural MT tools thanks to larger attention windows and ability to perform a wider range of tasks compared to MT. Additionally, research has already shown that LLMs have advantages over NMN in translation, including in the field of law, and that LLMs can improve MT output, that is, perform post-editing, which is a cognitively demanding task for humans.

The analysis focuses on the translation solutions for a number of items representing challenges particular to legal translation, such as asymmetrical terminology or the need to explain system-bound concepts relying on knowledge that is not explicitly stated in the source documents. The results confirm limited usefulness of LLMs compared to neural MT engines in terms of preparing text adapted to the needs of target language readers, whether they are prompted to translate or post-edit them. They also confirm the need for human oversight and domain expertise when LLMs are used. Additionally, the assessment of the quality of machine-translated texts as well as LLM’s own versions performed by both LLMs leads to the conclusion that, like the edits they introduce in PE, the focus is on superficial linguistic phenomena, rather than improvement that would be appreciated by a human reader unfamiliar with the source legal system.

Biography

Anna Setkowicz-Ryszka is a freelance legal translator EN-PL/PL-EN with considerable experience in translating, revising and post-editing legislation, contracts, legal and financial opinions, accounting documents, and academic legal texts.

She is a sworn translator and interpreter of English in Poland and a translator trainer delivering practical legal translation workshops in legal translation to legal translator trainees, practicing translators, and lawyers/law students.

In 2025, she completed a doctoral school at the University of Lodz, Poland. Her research interests include legal translation, legal translation expertise (process-oriented research), plain legal language, training legal translators, and various aspects of post-editing in the legal domain.

ILETA Winter School Speaker: Sofia Parastatidou

Common Law vs Civil Law – What ChatGPT and your textbooks got wrong!

Abstract

The dichotomy between common law and civil law is one that is universally represented as being judge-made – precedent-driven (common law) and code-based and privy of judicial creativity (civil law). 

These misrepresentations now circulate even more aggressively through generative AI systems such as ChatGPT, which reproduce them with an awe of neutral authority. This presentation is aimed at debunking this characterisation and argues that the classification is the product of pedagogical convenience for legal reality.

The supposed common law–civil law divide rests on selective history and frozen institutional caricatures. Civil law judges like their common law counterparts do make law, reason with prior decisions, and develop doctrine over time. Likewise, common law systems are saturated with legislation, codification, and regulation. The persistence of this superficial  characterisation owes less to accuracy than to its usefulness as a teaching shortcut.

AI systems do not merely inherit these misconceptions but propagate them, presenting an artificial consensus that reinforces outdated taxonomies and discourages critical engagement. 

I will conclude with recommendations for more nuanced teaching frameworks using case studies for legal educators to engage and explore the richness and complexity that comparative studies can offer.

Biography

Sofia Parastatidou is the President & Founder of ILETA and a practising lawyer admitted to practise in England and Wales who has been training professionals since 1994 and author of legal English textbooks and legal articles.

ILETA Winter School Speaker: Mike Waters: Skills Bar

Presentation Title:

Reining in AI: Combatting Downsides without Losing Benefits

The rapid adoption of AI tools in legal education presents Legal English trainers with a paradox: while AI offers unprecedented efficiency, accessibility, and pedagogical support, it also risks encouraging superficial understanding, eroding linguistic precision, and fostering the illusion that professional competence can be automated.

This presentation argues that the real challenge is not whether to use AI, but how to integrate it responsibly without undermining legal judgment, system awareness, and risk sensitivity. Drawing on practical classroom experience and a lawyer’s perspective, the session examines three key downsides of AI in Legal English training—shallow legal understanding, diminished attention to legal consequences, and clients’ growing perception of AI as a substitute for human learning—while demonstrating how these risks can be actively countered.

Ultimately, the presentation reframes AI not as a threat to Legal English trainers, but as an opportunity to reposition their role: from language correctors to trainers of judgment, critical evaluation, and AI-augmented professional competence.

Combatting the Downsides of AI …

Key points include:

• How trainers can reposition Legal English as AI-augmented legal judgment, not mere language training

• Why fluent AI output can conceal doctrinal errors and blur common law–civil law distinctions

• How AI’s stylistic strengths can weaken precision and risk awareness in legal language

• Why AI answers questions but does not build professional competence or accountability

BIOGRAPHY

Mike Waters is the founder and managing director of SkillsBar, a business and professional language services provider based in Bucharest, Romania. Originally from Ireland, where he qualified as a solicitor, Mike has worked as a lecturer and corporate trainer around the world, including The Gulf Region, Africa, and Europe. His main areas of interest include Legal English, Business Communication, Business Writing and, lately, AI and its impacts on learning.BIOGRAPHY

ILETA Winter School Speaker: Catia Lattanzi

Title of Presentation: Innovation, Integration and Intellectual Professions: Where do Ethics lie?

ABSTRACT

Innovation, Integration, and Intellectual Professions: Where Do Ethics Lie?

By Catia Lattanzi, Presidente of AssITIG

The main focus is on the ethical integration of advanced technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), within professional fields. The presentation emphasizes the importance of maintaining human oversight and moral responsibility. Three main ethical pillars are identified: accountability, fairness and bias, and transparency. The aim of these pillars is to ensure that AI systems are used responsibly, mitigating biases and maintaining trust.

Key points:

• Ethical challenges: The importance of clear accountability, equitable treatment and transparency in AI processes in order to maintain professional integrity.

• Regulatory Framework: The talk introduces the Italian AI law, which is aligned with the EU AI Act and focuses on principles such as putting people first, clarity, and fair use. The law emphasises sustainability, human oversight, and cybersecurity.

• Governance Structure: A multi-level governance system has been established, comprising an Interministerial Committee and independent authorities, to ensure the ethical development and application of AI.

• Impact on professions: AI is viewed as a tool and a challenge for professionals such as architects and engineers, who remain responsible for AI-assisted decisions.

• Innovation and training: The law encourages innovation within ethical boundaries and stresses the importance of continuous learning and adapting professional training to integrate AI responsibly.

Overall, the importance of striking a balance between leveraging the capabilities of AI and safeguarding human values and responsibilities is emphasized.

BIOGRAPHY

Ms. Catia Lattanzi has been working as an interpreter and translator for over twenty years throughout Italy in English, French and Italian (her mother tongue).

She is registered as an expert interpreter and translator with the Chamber of Commerce CCIA Milan, Monza-Brianza, Lodi. Member of ILETA (International Legal English Trainers’ Academy) and ILETA Country Ambassador for Interpreters and Translators 2025-2027.

Catia is also in her second consecutive term as President of AssITIG (Italian Association of Legal and Judicial Translators and Interpreters) and member of the Executive Committee of EULITA.

BONUS: Presentation & Round Table Discussion led by Sofia Parastatidou

AI, Codes of Conduct & Liability- An Ethical Issue for Translators & Interpreters

REGISTRATION

Registration Fee is

• €50 (Bronze members),

• €70 (Basic Members)

• €90 (non-ILETA members) for the ILETA Online Winter School.
• €80 (Bronze Membership & Registration)

Please note that there is an extra €5 fee for PayPal payments. 

To register fill in this form Registration form

To apply for Bronze Membership 2026 fill in this form Application for Bronze Membership 2026