For some time now, Canada’s legal language professions have been affected by a shortage of professionals. This concern was initially raised in a 2016 report commissioned by Université de Saint-Boniface. It has since been the subject of ongoing discussion among various professional associations directly or indirectly linked to the legal language industry. In May 2025, the Canadian Interuniversity Alliance for the Advancement of the Legal Language Professions (CIAALLP) published a report presenting its findings and data on the shortage of legal language professionals and exploring the issue in greater depth. The data were collected through interviews and surveys conducted with industry stakeholders, namely legal language professionals and their employers.
The report reveals that the shortage varies by profession, with court interpreters affected more than legal translators, for example. More importantly, the severity of the shortage is a matter of debate within the field. The employers, all of whom are in the public sector, reported that they were not experiencing a shortage of legal language professionals within their teams, contradicting the findings of the 2016 report. Instead, insufficient funding to maintain or create positions in the field seems to be the issue.
Among legal language professionals who believe there is a shortage, the reasons cited are varied: non-competitive pay, challenging working conditions, lack of flexibility (working from home), and limited specialized training opportunities, among others. They also reported that the negative consequences of the shortage include being overworked, worsening working conditions, declining quality of work, reliance on individuals with inadequate experience or skills, and missed deadlines. Solutions must not only expand access to specialized training in legal translation and court interpreting and improve working conditions, but also raise the profile of these specializations in both professional and academic settings.
No one seems to agree on the extent and context of the shortage of legal language professionals (subfield, region, degree of specialization, and other criteria). The preliminary conclusion of this study suggests that major translation employers appear to be largely unaffected. Further research focusing on smaller-scale workplaces would be necessary to validate this conclusion.
Job satisfaction among legal language professionals
Both legal translators and court interpreters were surveyed about their job satisfaction and the issues they face. More than 60% of respondents reported being “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their work. Among translators who dedicate at least half of their working time to this field, that figure rose to approximately 95%. These high levels of satisfaction stem from personal fulfillment with the legal and linguistic aspects of the work, and the social impact of the profession, particularly in facilitating access to justice. More than 50% of legal translators and court interpreters who spend at least half their working time in these professions would recommend it as a career.
However, when asked about the challenges they face and their concerns, the respondents highlighted working conditions as a pain point—tight deadlines for legal translators, and employment instability and compensation concerns for court interpreters. The respondents who spend less than half their time working in the legal field cited limited job opportunities, inadequate pay, and lack of specialized training as the main reasons for not taking on more work in this area.
On a positive note, nearly 60% of respondents said they “rarely” or “never” consider leaving legal translation or court interpreting. Once again, their main reason is a strong passion for the field. As for the 40% who said they “sometimes,” “often,” or “very often” think about leaving the professions, it was primarily due to the previously mentioned issues with working conditions.
These findings suggest that, although legal language professions demand a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail, the issue is not a lack of interest in the field. On the contrary, legal language professionals seem truly passionate and motivated, and therefore unlikely to seek a career change. Rather, the main barriers are challenging working conditions, which discourage linguists and legal professionals from specializing in legal translation or court interpreting, and the shortage of specialized training programs for those interested in the legal language professions.
Potential solutions
Although the severity of the shortages remains a matter of debate, several challenges related to recruiting and retaining talent were raised by both the professionals and their employers. Drawing from the interviews and surveys conducted with various stakeholders, there are several potential solutions. These include promoting legal language careers among students in language and law programs, raising the profile of these professions, and improving working conditions. Increasing workplace flexibility—especially by allowing remote work—could also help address recruitment issues that stem from geographic constraints. Finally, we must expand the availability of specialized training in both legal translation and court interpreting for students, but also for language professionals seeking continuing professional development. Implementing these solutions would help highlight and promote the legal language professions. However, more precise data are needed to identify the most pressing issues and to develop targeted, effective solutions.
About the author
RaphaĂ«l Bosco holds a degree in professional translation from the University of Sherbrooke. He also graduated from the Graduate Diploma in Legal Translation at 91şÚÁĎÍř. As a research assistant, he has worked on a variety of projects on topics such as jurilinguistics and revitalization of Indigenous languages.