An
articled clerk, also known as an
articling student, is an
apprentice in a professional firm in
Commonwealth countries; generally the term arises in the
accountancy and
legal professions. The articled clerk signs a contract, known as "articles of clerkship", committing 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 in the firm and not with the firm as a whole.