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ILETA SPEAKER: Sue Leschen

On 15 January 2026 by

Sue Leschen

Avocate Legal and Business French Services Ltd

Title of Presentation

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

Abstract

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.

For a full list of Speakers, Abstracts and Biographies click here Winter School Speakers, Abstracts, Biographies – 2026

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