articled clerk

An articled clerk in Commonwealth countries is studying to be an accountant or a lawyer under the supervision of someone already in the profession, now usually for two years, but previously three to five years was common. This is similar to an intern for a company. Trainees sign articles of clerkship, a contract committing them to a fixed period of employment. Wharton's Law Lexicon defines an articled clerk as "a pupil of a solicitor, who undertakes, by articles of clerkship, continuing covenants, mutually binding, to instruct him in the principles and practice of the profession". The contract is with a specific partner, not with the firm as a whole. Nowadays, some professions in some countries prefer to use the term "students" or "trainees" (e.g., a trainee solicitor) and the articles of ...