After gaining a BA (Hons) in French and German from the University of Hull and an MA in Interpreting and Translating from the University of Bradford, Julie began her professional career as a staff translator at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1982. After two years there she moved to the European Commission in Luxembourg, where she worked as a staff translator for 10 years, specialising in employment and social security. Returning to the UK when she married, she has now been working as a freelance for 18 years, mainly for the EU institutions, the ILO and various other international organisations. She added Dutch to her languages 30 years ago and has developed considerable expertise in legal translation, working for the European Court of Justice and the UN International Court of Justice in The Hague.