Legal Translation for International Service of Process
As global e-commerce continues to grow, many law firms and corporate legal departments will face the challenges of transnational litigation. And I’m not talking about the obvious need for having their English-language legal documents translated into foreign languages and making sure that such legal document translations will withstand the scrutiny of international courts.
I’m talking about a less common challenge of figuring a way to serve process on foreign defendants, whose correct contact information is unknown to the plaintiff.
This fact alone would make the international service of process in the traditional manner impossible.
It turns out that a less traditional form may be allowed, based on the circumstances.
Evan Brown provides interesting information about Williams-Sonoma Inc. v. Friendfinder Inc., No. 06-6572, 2007 WL 1140639 (N.D.Cal. April 17, 2007).
Williams-Sonoma filed a suit against a number of evasive foreign defendants and asked the court for an order authorizing it to serve process by e-mail. The request was granted.