Agency or platform. Comparing ways of working, not suppliers
A legal translation agency brings contractual liability and a named translator. A generic tool brings immediacy. The question is not which camp to join. It is which document deserves which treatment, and who decides.
Request a demoThe short answer
A translation agency brings contractual liability and a human contact; a generic tool brings immediacy.
Corrext replaces neither. It translates straight away, then orders external review from a legal translator or a certified agency, only for the documents that require it.
Three working models, three real strengths
Each one solves a problem that the other two solve poorly. The usual criticism of each model is generally the flip side of its strength.
External agency alone
A commitment, and someone at the other end of the line
It is the only model that offers contractual liability for the result, an identified legal translator, a lasting relationship and a certification that can be relied on against third parties. On a binding document, nothing replaces that.
The flip side: an order for every document you need to read
Generic tool alone
Understand now, without asking anyone
It meets a law firm's most frequent need: knowing what a document says, right away, at midnight, with no process. That is a real gain, and it is why teams use it whatever they are told.
The flip side: no framework, no record
Corrext
Immediacy first, human review second
Machine translation is available at all times, in a governed Swiss environment. Human review is ordered from the same interface, file by file, internal or external, with its delivery time and its quote.
The bet: deciding document by document
Nine criteria, from day one to the signed document
The ‘External agency alone’ and ‘Generic tool alone’ columns describe ways of organising work, not a specific provider. Practices vary widely from one agency to another and from one offering to another, and we have flagged this wherever it applies. No prices are compared here.
| External agency alone | Generic tool alone | Corrext | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Getting started and tracking | |||
| Lead time to get started | ½Quote, purchase order, scheduling | Immediate | Immediate for translation; review ordered in a few clicks |
| Visibility on progress | ½By email, depending on the provider | Not applicable | Set-up, File overview and Quotes steps, then project tracking |
| Cost of quick understanding (reading for the gist) | ½Every reading requires an order | No order needed | No order needed, in a governed framework |
| Quality and confidentiality | |||
| Quality on a binding document | Its core business | No review, no guarantee | Machine, then Light, Full or Double review by a legal translator or a certified agency |
| Confidentiality of file transfers | ½Depends on the channel: email, portal, subcontractors | Documents processed outside Switzerland | Swiss storage, Highly sensitive mode, ISO 27001, notice before any foreign engine |
| Certified, notarised or apostilled translation | Yes | No | Double review & certified translation; translation of commercial register extracts, up to the apostille |
| Reuse and control | |||
| Translation memory | ½Held by the provider, depending on the contract | None | Standard projects feed your own memory only; no reuse in Highly sensitive mode |
| Terminology required by your firm | ½Supplied as a glossary, applied by the translator | Retyped every time | ½Your own and shared resources in CHnell, searchable in context while you translate |
| Control of the process | Outside your environment | No process | Project, review levels, languages and files managed in a single interface |
Available and observed½Partial or depends on the providerNot available
Comparison made on the date this page went online, from the publishers' public information and our own observations in Corrext. The products compared change over time: only their official documentation is authoritative.
External review, as you order it in the tool
In the project workflow, each file is given its language, its review mode (internal or external) and its level. These three levels are the application's own, described faithfully.
Light review
Legal translator
The translator corrects significant errors, omissions and mistranslations in the machine translation. The result is a complete and semantically accurate translation, recommended for understanding a document and circulating it internally.
Full review
Legal translator
The translator reviews, adapts and modifies the machine translation, with particular attention to consistency, idiomatic wording, style and tone. The result is a sound legal translation of your documents, ready to be shared with third parties.
Double review & certified translation
A full review by two qualified legal translators. A certificate signed by the specialised agency in charge of the project attests to the accuracy and impartiality of the translation. This is the right level for use in court, publication or submission to an authority.
Definitions displayed by Corrext at the Quotes step. A single project can mix internal and external review, file by file. Internal review is costed at your own standard page rate, which you enter in the tool.
Why we are not trying to do away with agencies
Because human review remains the only way to make someone answerable for a text, and because certification requires a signature. What we challenge is not the work of legal translators. It is having to place an order just to read a document, when most of the documents in a case file are never meant to leave the firm. Corrext sorts: machine translation for understanding, human review for anything binding, and you choose file by file, with the delivery time shown.
Quotes
Choose who reviews the machine translation, then get the estimated delivery time and the quote.
External review settings
Standard pages counted, language and legal category detected.
The review estimate follows the due date you choose.
Your own teams internally, or a legal translator and a certified agency externally.
Frequently asked questions about agencies and platforms
Does Corrext replace my translation agency?
No. Corrext is where you order external review: in the project workflow, a document can be assigned to a legal translator or a certified agency, in Light review, Full review or Double review & certified translation. What the platform removes is not the agency, but the need to place an order just to read a document. Human work is concentrated where it counts, on binding documents.
Who reviews documents in Corrext?
There are two routes, chosen file by file. Internal review: your own legal experts or translators review in the platform, and the estimated time is shown before you start. External review: the review is assigned to a legal translator or a certified agency, with an estimated delivery time and a due date chosen in a calendar. A single project can mix both, row by row, in the file table.
What is the difference between Light review, Full review and Double review?
Light review: a translator corrects significant errors, omissions and mistranslations; the result is complete and accurate, recommended for understanding and internal circulation. Full review: the translator also works on consistency, idiomatic wording, style and tone; this is the version ready to be shared with third parties. Double review & certified translation: a full review by two qualified legal translators, with a certificate signed by the specialised agency attesting to accuracy and impartiality, for use in court, publication or submission to an authority.
How do I get a quote and a delivery time?
They are calculated in the tool, at the Quotes step of the project workflow. Corrext counts the standard pages of each file and detects the language and legal category of the document. It then shows the preparation time, the internal review time and the external review time, together with the total cost before tax. You adjust the review level and the due date, and the quote follows. No prior discussion is needed to get this estimate.
Can I keep the agency I already work with?
External review ordered in Corrext goes through our network of legal translators and certified agencies. Nothing stops you, however, from continuing to send your usual provider the documents that fall within its remit: your teams translate and review in Corrext, then export the document in its original format. If you would like to bring your own provider into the project workflow, we can look at this together in a demo.