This site uses cookies. Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site, while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
Cookie settings
  1. KudoZ™ Top
  2. Spanish to English
  3. Law (general)

Procurador and Abogado

English translation: court representative and attorney (or lawyer)

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Spanish term or phrase:Procurador and Abogado
English translation:court representative and attorney (or lawyer)
Entered by: Rebecca Jowers

16:12 Feb 16, 2005
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Law/Patents - Law (general)
Spanish term or phrase: Procurador and Abogado
Lawyer, attorney or solicitor??? Which one is which?
laurasanchez
court representative and attorney (or lawyer)
Explanation:
It is my experience that "procurador" is one of the most confusing and mistranslated terms in legal Spanish, since there is really no equivalent in any Anglo-American legal systems. And the distinct jobs of "procurador" and "abogado" do not parallel those of solicitor or barrister, and "procuradores", who hold law degrees and must pass difficult competitive exams ("oposiciones") are certainly not paralegals or proxies. In most legal proceedings in Spain (and in other countries such as Argentina) it is mandatory that parties be represented by BOTH an "abogado" (lawyer/attorney) AND a "procurador" whose job it is to represent (not defend) his client at the court (not in court) and serve as a liaison between the lawyer and the court, filing papers, checking up on the status of the case, etc. Thus, although a procurador is a lawyer in the sense that he holds a law degree, in legal proceedings he has a specific role that is totally separate from that of the abogado. (The Bosch Diccionario de Derecho defines the procurador as a person who "asume la función de representar a la parte, y ...colabora y presta auxilio al abogado en la recepción y entrega de escritos ante los órganos jurisdiccionales.") In view of the above I do not believe procurador can be translated either as lawyer/attorney/solicitor/barrister as it often appears in many bilingual legal dictionaries, or as "prosecutor," "district attorney," or "DA," which is "fiscal." As mentioned above, there is much confusion surrounding this term precisely because there is no equivalent in any Anglo-American legal system, so a term has to be coined or the translator has to explain the procurador's real functions in a footnote. (In Scotland, there is something called a "procurator fiscal", an officer of the sheriff court who carries out preliminary criminal investigations, takes statements from witnesses, etc., but that's another story.) Additional confusion may likewise arise since in some jurisdictions (Mexico) "procurador" does indeed mean "prosecutor" (i.e., "fiscal" in Spain). This distinction is underscored in Thomas West's Spanish-English Dictionary of Law and Business (p. 188) in which he includes both definitions. The real problem is trying to find a good translation of "procurador". I suggest "court representative" but I would appreciate any additional suggestions that actually reflect the definition of procurador and distinguish him from the abogado.
Selected response from:

Rebecca Jowers
Spain
Local time: 14:38
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +9court representative and attorney (or lawyer)
Rebecca Jowers
4 +1Proxy / attorney / solicitor
Xenia Wong
4 +1equivalent of solicitor and barrister
Karen Marston
5Procurador=solicitor/paralegal-Abogado=lawyer/attorney
Silvina Jover-Cirillo (X)
5Prosecutor and Lawyer/Solicitor
Mark Solomon
4See Glossary
JudyK


  

Answers


6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Proxy / attorney / solicitor


Explanation:
They are all attorneys, with different specific functions in a transaction.

Xenia Wong
Local time: 07:38
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 448

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  ojinaga
6 mins
  -> Muchas gracias, Ojinaga.........xen
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

17 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
equivalent of solicitor and barrister


Explanation:
You can't really give an exact parallel because the 2 legal systems are different so the 2 types of laywers will not have exactly the same roles - e.g. in Spanish law there is also a 'notario' which does not exist in the UK but has some of the same duties as a solicitor.
From a previous translation I did the descriptions of the 2 pointed to 'procurador' being the equivalent of a solicitor and 'abogado' being the equivalent of a barrister, but I wouldn't translate them directly like that as you can create confusion about who they are and what they do. It might help if you gave some context for your question. Does that help?

Karen Marston
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:38
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 24

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Hemuss: Creía que "notario" es "notary" en inglés.
12 mins
  -> Si pero es un 'solicitor' que tiene esta función
agree  Patrice: I agree although in N.Am. law it is "barrister and solicitor"....I think this person could get away with just translating as "attorney", which is all-encompassing
1 hr
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

28 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
See Glossary


Explanation:
If this is for Spain, please see the glossary as I asked this question a while ago, and once closed, Rebecca Jowers kindly added an extremely helpful explanation. (kudos/830948) - not sure if I have entered the reference to this question correctly, but it will come up if you search glossary under "procurador" and look for my particular question.

JudyK
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:38
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 3
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
Procurador=solicitor/paralegal-Abogado=lawyer/attorney


Explanation:
:)

You should check the Glossary. I ran into a similar question a couple of weeks ago.

Silvina Jover-Cirillo (X)
United States
Local time: 08:38
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
Prosecutor and Lawyer/Solicitor


Explanation:
Procurador is the state's prosecuting lawyer - DA in US terms.

Abogado is just a general word for lawyer or solicitor in UK terms.

Mark Solomon
Spain
Local time: 14:38
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 36
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

16 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +9
court representative and attorney (or lawyer)


Explanation:
It is my experience that "procurador" is one of the most confusing and mistranslated terms in legal Spanish, since there is really no equivalent in any Anglo-American legal systems. And the distinct jobs of "procurador" and "abogado" do not parallel those of solicitor or barrister, and "procuradores", who hold law degrees and must pass difficult competitive exams ("oposiciones") are certainly not paralegals or proxies. In most legal proceedings in Spain (and in other countries such as Argentina) it is mandatory that parties be represented by BOTH an "abogado" (lawyer/attorney) AND a "procurador" whose job it is to represent (not defend) his client at the court (not in court) and serve as a liaison between the lawyer and the court, filing papers, checking up on the status of the case, etc. Thus, although a procurador is a lawyer in the sense that he holds a law degree, in legal proceedings he has a specific role that is totally separate from that of the abogado. (The Bosch Diccionario de Derecho defines the procurador as a person who "asume la función de representar a la parte, y ...colabora y presta auxilio al abogado en la recepción y entrega de escritos ante los órganos jurisdiccionales.") In view of the above I do not believe procurador can be translated either as lawyer/attorney/solicitor/barrister as it often appears in many bilingual legal dictionaries, or as "prosecutor," "district attorney," or "DA," which is "fiscal." As mentioned above, there is much confusion surrounding this term precisely because there is no equivalent in any Anglo-American legal system, so a term has to be coined or the translator has to explain the procurador's real functions in a footnote. (In Scotland, there is something called a "procurator fiscal", an officer of the sheriff court who carries out preliminary criminal investigations, takes statements from witnesses, etc., but that's another story.) Additional confusion may likewise arise since in some jurisdictions (Mexico) "procurador" does indeed mean "prosecutor" (i.e., "fiscal" in Spain). This distinction is underscored in Thomas West's Spanish-English Dictionary of Law and Business (p. 188) in which he includes both definitions. The real problem is trying to find a good translation of "procurador". I suggest "court representative" but I would appreciate any additional suggestions that actually reflect the definition of procurador and distinguish him from the abogado.

Rebecca Jowers
Spain
Local time: 14:38
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 2222
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Claudia Martel
602 days
  -> Gracias Claudia
agree  Walter Landesman
602 days
  -> ¡Gracias, Walter!
agree  pkanji: Rebecca! yes I have seen court representative. but most books are now suggesting 'solicitor' this is very very confusing
2424 days
  -> This is difficult to discuss in a response to an "agree." But iIf you want to email me, I can give you plenty of reasons why "solicitor" is a bad translation for "procurador"!
agree  Rocio Barrientos
3335 days
  -> Gracias Rocío, y saludos desde Madrid
agree  Ana Brause
3906 days
  -> Gracias Ana
agree  cbcn
4025 days
agree  neilmac: This is REALLY helpful, thanks. And Season's Greetings!
4330 days
  -> Thanks for your kind words, neilmac, and ¡Feliz Año!
agree  Jaume Sanz Aznar: I would say link court lawyer by your definition (they serve as a liaison between the lawyer and the court, filing papers, checking up on the status of the case, etc.)
4572 days
  -> Thanks for your comment. "Link court lawyer" doesn't sound natural in English; perhaps something like "court liaison lawyer" would work, but actually there's no simple translation for "procurador".
agree  María Marta Semberoiz: Thank you! It was very helpful!
4653 days
  -> Thanks, María. In case it may be of interest, I've updated and expanded my ideas on how to translate "procurador" here:https://rebeccajowers.com/2017/01/18/what-is-a-procurador/
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

Return to KudoZ list

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

See also:
ProZ.com term search
Search millions of term translations
Close search
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search