Detail from the sarcophagus of Roman jurist Valerio Petroniano (315–320)
A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law.[1][2] This person is usually a specialist legal scholar—not necessarily with a formal qualification in law or a legal practitioner, although in the United States the term "jurist" may be applied to a judge.[3] With reference to Roman law, a "jurist" (in English) is a jurisconsult (jurisconsulta).[4]
The English term jurist is to be distinguished from similar terms in other European languages, where it may be synonymous with legal professional, i.e. anyone with a professional law degree that qualifies for legal work.[citation needed]
