Ruth Renner May
ATA-Certified Legal & Financial Translator · Economist Sworn Translator, Federal Appointment in Mexico
My background is in economics and finance. My practice is in translation. For me, the two have become inseparable.
I spent the first part of my career as an economist and banker — in economic analysis at a major Mexican commercial bank, and later in foreign exchange, money markets, and private banking. When I moved into translation, I brought that foundation with me. Not as a credential to list, but as a way of reading documents that changes how I approach every engagement. I understood from the inside what is truly at stake in the documents spanning legal systems and reviewed by investment committees and regulatory authorities.
The risk in a poorly translated legal or financial document is not simply linguistic. It is contractual, financial, and reputational. That is the work I have built my practice around — and the background I bring to it.
ATA-Certified English–Spanish Translator
Sworn Translator (Perito Traductor) · Federal Appointment, Mexico
Economist · 15+ Years Translating
High-Stakes Documentation
Common Law and Civil Law Drafting
AI proposes. Judgment decides
Technology moves fast, and I keep close track of it. I use computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools, artificial intelligence (AI), translation memories, termbases (TB), and glossaries. They speed things up, organize, and propose options. None of them has ever made a decision.
The first decision on any project is never linguistic. A prepaid card agreement doesn't read the same way when the audience is a U.S. attorney as when it's a Spanish-speaking worker who just received that card to collect their wages. A trust doesn't read the same way when the audience is the bank administering it as when it's the family trying to understand what each member receives. No dictionary, and no model, solves that.
Then come the decisions no one sees: the term that stays in English because there's no equivalent in Mexico; the one that needs an explanation; the definition that still has to hold up forty pages later. Consistency doesn't happen on its own. It's built
AI made the first draft cheap. And that, in turn, made judgment more valuable.
From Numbers to Words
I studied economics at Universidad Anáhuac Norte and spent ten years in banking: in economic analysis for advisory boards at a major Mexican commercial bank, and later in private banking, money markets, and foreign exchange at another. That's where I learned to read a financial document the way a banker does: for what's actually at stake, not just the words.
Finance gave me the discipline; novels about translators gave me the idea. Now the two finally share the same desk.
I've translated professionally since 2011. What began as a crossing between two worlds became a specialization: sensitive, high-impact legal and financial documentation across the Mexico–U.S. corridor.
How I Work
I treat every document as my own. I look into the context, check the source, and make decisions that hold up.
If the source document has an error or something ambiguous, I flag it for you rather than quietly fixing it myself. That way, the translation doesn't inherit the original's flaws.
I use the best tools available. But the decision, and the responsibility for it, is mine, not the tool's.
Credentials & Certifications
ATA Certification — American Translators Association
Sworn Translator (Perito Traductor) · Federal Appointment, Mexico
Cambridge Business English Certificate Higher (BEC Higher), Grade A, C2
Professional Associations
I hold the ATA certification for English–Spanish translation, the formal professional credential for translators working in the U.S. market. Awarded in 2021 after passing a rigorous examination in the language pair.
→ Verify in the ATA directory
I am a court-authorized federal-level translator in Mexico, appointed by Mexico's Federal Judicial Administration (Órgano de Administración Judicial). My listing was published in the Federal Official Gazette on December 11, 2025. This designation authorizes me to produce certified translations for judicial proceedings, notarial acts, and regulatory filings in Mexico.
Cambridge Assessment English — the highest level of English language proficiency certification.
– Organización Mexicana de Traductores (OMT) · omt.org.mx
– Colegio Mexicano de Licenciados en Traducción e Interpretación (CMLTI) · cmlti.mx
– American Translators Association (ATA) · Certification #541902 · atanet.org/verify
Academic Background
B.A. in Economics, Universidad Anáhuac Norte — Graduated with Highest Honors
Thesis: Latin America: Capital Inflows, Domestic Effects, and Macroeconomic Policy Implications.
My thesis examined the macroeconomic implications of capital flows in Latin America, which remains directly relevant to my cross-border legal and financial work today.
Continuing Professional Development
ATA certification requires a minimum of 20 continuing education points every three years. Maintaining the court-authorized translator designation (Perita Traductora) in Mexico also requires demonstrating ongoing professional development. I actively maintain both credentials, with CPD focused on legal and financial translation, AI-assisted workflows, and cross-border practice.
My CPD is organized around four areas:
Legal & Contract Translation — Contract law, certified and notarized translations, trust and estate instruments, corporate document translation, and expert witness reports (dictámenes periciales).
Financial Translation — Specialized terminology, financial instruments, and resources for translators working in investment and wealth management contexts.
AI & Technology — AI-assisted translation workflows, machine translation post-editing, and CAT tool integration — with a focus on quality control and responsible use in legal and financial contexts.
Professional Practice — Working with high-end clients, practice development, and translation industry conferences including the ATA Annual Conference and the Congreso Internacional San Jerónimo, Mexico's most important translation conference.
Work at Scale
Beyond individual document translation, I have localized large-scale institutional and corporate projects — including a financial education platform exceeding 250,000 words, a professional certification course for an online coaching institution, content for a multilateral development bank, and UX and fan experience platforms for a major international sports organization.
These projects required the same standard I apply to every engagement: terminological consistency, cultural accuracy, and output that works for its audience without a second pass.
What I value most is what happens after I deliver: the deal closes, the filing is accepted, the report does its job, and no one has to think about the translation at all.
What my clients hire isn't a translation. It's one less thing to worry about. That's why they come back.
Outside of translation: mountains, trails, cycling, and triathlon — and thirteen published children's books, a reminder that words can be playful, too
Relied upon when the stakes are high.