Comparative law notes
Every common law jurisdiction has its own requirements for qualifying as a lawyer. However, the basic commonality among all lawyer's in these jurisdictions and Germany is that a "lawyer' has passed some kind of examination and/or formal training process in order practice law. In many common law jurisdictions, there are few additional requirements for a lawyer to serve as judge. For example, in the US, the Constitution sets forth no specific requirements for Federal judgeships. However, members of Congress, who typically recommend potential nominees, and the Department of Justice, which reviews nominees' qualifications, have developed their own informal criteria When a German text uses the term "Volljurist", it is often done to distinguish between a lawyer, who has met these universal qualifications, and a more specific type of lawyer, like one who is licensed to appear in court (like a barrister or "Rechtsanswalt") or one who serves as a judge (Richter). If the context is thereby a more detailed discussion about aspects of the legal profession, then we would recommend using the neologism "fully-qualified German lawyer" (with "Volljurist" in parenthesis shown thereafter). In a more generalized context, however, we think the term "lawyer" will likely suffice as a translation of "Volljurist".
