Who writes this blog

SETH PHILLIPS, legal and financial translator

Welcome to my blog, known as  SpanPort Linguist’s Blog. Originally from South Bend, Indiana (home of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish), I have lived in Mexico for a decade and love it. In the picture to the right, I am touring through London as part of my 2018 Europe adventure. In the picture below you are viewing my old neighborhood nearly at sunset, facing east toward the Zócalo Plaza of Mexico City.  I love reading, running, traveling, doing outdoor activities and, passionately, learning language and culture.

A native English speaker, US-citizen and formerly an International Sales associate, I am a freelance translator that has enjoyed living, working and traveling extensively throughout Mexico, the US and Europe, which have enriched my exposure to every day Spanish language and expanded my world views and horizons personally and professionally. From Spanish and Portuguese to English, I translate business, financial and corporate legal documents.

This space will be dedicated to Spanish-English and Portuguese-English financial and legal translation topics and resources, as well as various issues pertaining to the translation “profession”. As a graduate student at New York University‘s MS in Translating & Interpreting degree program, I look forward to sharing here what I learn as I examine such topics in that program. You are invited to participate and discuss in this blog. Suggestions as to future topics in this blog are welcome!

Professional background:
• Member of American Translators Association (ATA) and Colorado Translators Association (CTA)
• 9 years’ translation experience in freelance capacity, plus a short period as an in-house in previous position
• International Sales post for an exporting company, 8 months (Monterrey, Mex)
• College Program Internship at Walt Disney World, 6 months (Orlando, Florida)

Educational background
• Soon starting graduate school at NYU
• Certificate in General Translation though NYU (focus: financial and business topics)
• Spanish BA from Indiana University
>> Double minor in Latino & Latin American Studies
>> Certificate in Business Foundation (coursework focus: International Business)

Latest courses and conferences
• Legal Translation | New York University | September-December 2020
• Foundations of Legal Writing and Translation | Paula Arturo | Translating Lawyers Academy | March-April 2020
• 60th ATA Annual Conference | Palm Springs, California | October 23-27, 2019
• Contract Law| Ruth G. & Fernando Cuñado | Traducción Jurídica | Feb-May 2018 
• Corporate Finance Essentials | Dr. Javier Estrada – IESE | Jan – Mar 2017| Coursera
• 1st SWIICL-MEX Workshop: Cross-Border Transactions | Querétaro, Mexico | Feb. 23-24, 2017
• 2-semester independent course: Translating Contracts (Mexico City, 2015-2016)

Other Honors & Awards
• 17x Avid Marathon Runner – PR: 2:58:29. Recent: Milwaukee Lakefront (2019), Vancouver (2019), Berlin (2018), San Diego (2014) and Boston (2013)
• Red Cross Award of excellence, Mexico City (2008)
• Disney College Program Completion Award from Magic Kingdom Vice President Phil Holmes (2008)
• Senior Captain Star for High School Track & Field and Cross Country (2003-2004)