Rechtsgeschäft

This term is a recognized term in the US state of Louisiana (which adopted laws based on the French civil law system)! Although it appears that this English phrase is almost a direct match to the German concept of the Rechtsgeschäft, its use will likely cause confusion and require subsequent follow-up research among most native English-speaking lawyers who see the term in a document. Thus, we would recommend using our preferred translation "willful and legally consequential act", unless the context is rather academic from the very outset, in which case "juridical act" is probably better.