We’re proud and delighted to share that The Interpreter’s Lab – Centre for Interpreter Education and Training has just completed the first-ever Interpreting in Legal and Court Settings: ASL–English Advanced Program, led by the exceptional Dr. Debra Russell. With over 20 ASL-English interpreters participating, this inaugural cohort marks a groundbreaking moment for interpreter education in BC and across Canada.
Advanced Training for ASL-English Interpreters in Court Settings
This program is more than another course, it represents the first coordinated, advanced training for interpreters in legal and court settings, built specifically for ASL-English interpreters and grounded in Canadian practice, standards, and legal frameworks. And it reflects something essential about how we work at The Interpreter’s Lab: when interpreters and our partners identify a gap, we respond, quickly, collaboratively, and with purpose.
After listening to ASL-English interpreters across BC describe the persistent gap in legal-interpreting training, we adapted our well-established spoken-language legal interpreter training framework and rebuilt it specifically for ASL-English interpreters. This required re-sequencing modules, reworking assignment design, and ensuring that the competencies, protocols, and ethical considerations unique to ASL–English court work were meaningfully integrated. And we did so in a relatively short time, ensuring that interpreters could access the training they needed without waiting years for a program to be developed.
Coordinated, advanced training for interpreters in legal and court settings, built specifically for ASL interpreters and grounded in Canadian practice, standards, and legal frameworks.
Under Dr. Russell’s leadership, participants engaged in rigorous, research-informed learning: case analyses, applied skill-development, explorations of courtroom dynamics, and considerations and protocols for team/co-interpreting practices. The energy, thoughtfulness, and commitment from this cohort made it clear just how needed, and overdue, this type of training truly is.
Best Practices, International Standards (ISO) and the Canadian Justice System
This program was also deliberately grounded in international standards and evidence-based research on interpreter education. Drawing on the ISO framework for interpreter training, particularly the standards developed under ISO TC 37/SC 5 and decades of scholarship on legal interpreting, assessment, and professional competencies, we ensured the curriculum aligned with recognized best practices.
Everything from sequencing to assignment design, to skill development was informed by research and premised on the Canadian Law and Justice system. This alignment with standards and evidence-based pedagogy is central to how we design our programs and reinforces our commitment to delivering training that reflects the realities and responsibilities of legal interpreting today.
“At The Interpreter’s Lab, our mission is to deliver accessible, responsive, and standards-based training”
We extend our sincere gratitude to all participants, and to Dr. Russell for her leadership, expertise, and generosity in shaping this pioneering program.
More Training Opportunities to Come in 2026
This inaugural cohort centred ASL–English interpreters; however, we acknowledge the important contributions of Deaf interpreters in legal settings and plan to explore future training options that support and reflect their role in this work. The timeline for this first delivery made it necessary to proceed with the established structure; however, The Interpreter’s Lab is fully prepared to adapt the program for a second offering that reflects the needs of all sign language interpreters.
“The information and the opportunity to have Dr Russell guide our learning was incredible, and I do feel as though it was a great professional development opportunity.”
As we continue investing in sector-specific ASL-English interpreter education, this first-of-its-kind program sets a new benchmark, and it’s only the beginning. More advanced training opportunities for signed-language interpreters are coming in 2026.