中文含义

客户委托律师指的是，客户花钱请律师办事。跟装修房屋请装修工人、生病了请医生看病一样，本质上都是客户花钱买产品、买服务。

在法律实务中，常常看到客户委托律师的表达。例如「AAA律师事务所依法接受客户张三的委托，特指派本所李四律师就BBB事宜出具本律师函」。

英文平行文本

在英文法律实务中，客户委托律师中的「委托」常用的说法是retain

  • 如果出现利益冲突，比如律师代理的客户张三和客户李四在同个案件中利益冲突，张三必须另行委托律师。

    In the event such circumstance occurs, the Attorney would not represent Client in matters adverse to another Attorney's client. Client would be required to retain counsel other than the Attorney to represent its interest in such matter.

  • 律所跟客户张三明确表述委托范围仅限于公司事务，张三如果有诉讼案件需要另行委托。

    It is understood and agreed that our engagement is limited to the Representation. Please note that if you or any company you may represent is served with a lawsuit, then you should notify us immediately as there are time-sensitive issues that will need to be addressed. Should you need or desire to retain us to represent you in any other matter, we will do so under the terms of a separate fee agreement.

  • 客户聘请律师的合同，大陆地区通常称为《委托代理协议》《委托代理合同》，也有少数用《聘任合同》的，英文通常称为 Legal Retainer Agreement、Attorney Retainer Agreement 或 Attorney Engagement Agreement。

    • The purpose of this Attorney Retainer Agreement (“Agreement”) is to set forth our understanding and agreement, pursuant to which I, Raymond M. Beebe (“Beebe” or “Attorney”), have agreed to represent Winnebago Industries, Inc., (“Client” or “you”) in the following referenced matter(s): all legal matters as requested by Client's General Counsel or other members of the executive management team (“Matters”).
    • When a company goes into business with a client, an engagement letter puts the parameters of the relationship into writing. A strong engagement letter gives clients clear boundaries of what they can expect while also protecting the business from misunderstandings—especially when it comes to lawyers and their clients.

其他想法

关于《委托代理协议》

《委托代理协议》这个名称中包含委托和代理，在这个语境中是重复的，【客户委托律师】和【律师代理客户】是从两个方向说同一件事。有点类似 any and all 或者 null and void 这种传统的法律同义复词（doublet 或 synonym string ）。

而且《委托代理协议》光看名字也不能看出是不是客户和律师签订的合同，不如英文的 Attorney Retainer Agreement 或 Attorney Engagement Agreement 来的直白，看名字就知道跟律师（Attorney）有关。除了法律业内人士能秒懂，其他人就不好说了。

实务中，也有使用《聘任合同》来指代类似合同的，比如《荆州市人民政府法律顾问法律专家聘任合同》，就是荆州市政府聘请律师的合同。然而，也有用《律师事务所律师聘用合同》来指代律师事务所和律师签订的劳动合同，等同于公司和员工签的雇佣合同。劳动合同（Employment Agreement）和《委托代理协议》是有很大的区别的，两者不能混同，大陆地区甚至有专门的法律《劳动合同法》来规定劳动关系。

具体到翻译时，只能具体情况具体分析，根据合同的本质来确定对应的译文。

类似合同的翻译

如何翻译下列合同名称：专项法律服务合同、常年法律服务协议、非诉委托代理合同、诉讼委托代理合同？

专项法律服务合同 VS 常年法律服务协议

专项法律服务合同和常年法律服务协议本质上是一样的，区别是前者是一次性的服务，后者是长期的。但是英文中没有特别强调这个差异，合同名称都可以用 retainer agreement 来表示，具体的期限要看合同期限条款。

In contract law and legal practice, the agreement between a client and a lawyer for the purpose of retaining the lawyer's services is commonly referred to as a "retainer agreement" or simply a "retainer." This agreement outlines the terms of the engagement, including the scope of legal services to be provided, the fees and billing structure, and other important terms and conditions.

While retainers can sometimes involve ongoing or recurring services, they can also be structured as one-time agreements for a specific project or legal matter. In such cases, it's still common to use the term "retainer agreement" to refer to the initial contract establishing the attorney-client relationship, even if the engagement is limited in duration or scope.

非诉委托代理合同 VS 诉讼委托代理合同

同上，在英文法律实务中，没有特意用不同的名词来区分「非诉委托代理合同」和「诉讼委托代理合同」，合同名称都可以用 retainer agreement 来表示，具体的服务内容要看合同条款。「诉讼委托代理合同」也可以视合同内容，译为 legal services agreement 或者 consulting agreement。

For a contract between a client and a lawyer regarding litigation matters, it's commonly referred to as a "retainer agreement" or "engagement agreement." This document outlines the scope of legal services to be provided, the fee structure, responsibilities of both parties, and other pertinent details related to the litigation.

For a contract between a client and a lawyer for non-litigation matters, it might be termed a "legal services agreement," "consulting agreement," or "engagement agreement." This contract delineates the nature of the legal services to be provided, the fees, the duration of the engagement, and any other relevant terms specific to the non-litigation matter at hand.

参考资料

  1. 法律语言的冗长与冗余，刘蔚铭
  2. Any and All, Andrew Godwin
  3. Engagement Letters 101: What Your Law Firm Needs to Know

关于作者

Joey Zhang，译者/法学学士，持有中国法律职业资格，长期从事法律翻译及商业翻译，个人最新简历可点击此处查阅。也可以通过以下平台联系我：LinkedIn、豆瓣、知乎、小红书

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