Beginning a Placement

Candidates may choose to complete their articling placement in Ontario, or another province or country. 

• Candidates who article in Ontario must file an Articles of Clerkship form within 10 business days of their articling start date with an approved articling principal. Time served under an unapproved principal will not be counted towards the completion of the experiential training requirement. Indicating articling placement information in the application does not meet the filing requirements; filing the Articles of Clerkship is required at the start of any placement.
• Ontario placements are subject to the Mandatory Minimum Compensation requirement for placements commencing after May 1, 2023. More information can be found here.
• Candidates who choose to article outside of Ontario must file an Application for National or International Articling Placement in advance of their articling start date. This application replaces the Articles of Clerkship form for candidates who intend to commence a national or international placement.
• Candidates are required to have their law school or the NCA submit a final official transcript/Certificate of Qualification (CQ) confirming they have completed their requirements for the J.D./LL.B./CQ to the Licensing and Accreditation Department prior to commencement of any experiential training.
• The Law Society will not grant credit for time spent in an articling placement that has started more than 10 business days prior to the date an Articles of Clerkship form. If the form or application is filed later than 10 business days after the start date of the articling placement, the candidate will also be invoiced a late fee of $100 (plus applicable taxes).

A joint articling placement is served under the direct supervision of two or more principals at the same time, who agree to share the services of a candidate during an articling placement. 

Articling with two or more principals separately during the articling term would NOT be considered a joint articling placement, but rather two separate placements with two separate filing requirements (Example: Principal A for the first half of an articling term and Principal B for the remaining months).

• A candidate registered in the Lawyer Licensing Process must file a Joint Articles of Clerkship form no later than 10 business days after the articling start date.
• This form must include a proposed schedule that has been agreed upon by all parties.  If the form cannot accommodate the proposed schedule, a detailed schedule must be attached as a separate document. 
• Articling candidates and principals who wish to enter into a joint articling arrangement must be sensitive to conflict of interest concerns. Prior to commencing the joint articling relationship, all parties must review the Rules of Professional Conduct concerning conflicts from transfer between law firms.
• The Law Society will not grant credit for time spent in an articling placement that has started more than 10 business days prior to the date the Joint Articles of Clerkship form is filed, and will only grant credit for placements supervised by approved principals.
• Each joint articling principal must file their own Experiential Training Plan and Record of Experiential Training using the online Articling Program Reporting Tool. 

• Examples of Joint Articling Arrangements
  • Candidate articles with Principal A on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and Principal B on Thursday and Friday for the duration of their placement term.
  • Candidate articles with Principal A in the mornings from Monday to Friday and afternoons with Principal B from Monday to Friday.

A national or international articling placement is completed (either in-person or remotely) in a Canadian province other than Ontario or outside of Canada.

The placement must be supervised by a licensed lawyer who

• has been called to the bar in another Canadian or international jurisdiction and is authorized to practise unrestricted in that jurisdiction; or
• will not be providing the articling candidate with an experience that substantially deals with the laws and practices applicable to the practice of law in the Province of Ontario.

To Apply for National or International Articles, the following is required:

1. Application for National or International Articling placement.

2. The application fee is $160.00 (plus applicable taxes). The Law Society of Ontario will invoice the candidate's online account in the amount of $160.00 (plus applicable taxes).

3. An original Certificate of Good Standing that must be sent directly from the issuing jurisdiction of the proposed supervising lawyer to the Licensing and Accreditation department at the Law Society of Ontario.

4. The proposed supervising lawyer must be: 

   • actively engaged in practice of law for 3 of the 5 years immediately preceding the intended articling placement;
   • an exemplar of the profession, having regard to all circumstances including but not limited to the lawyer's experience, competence, ethical standards, and professional conduct record. 



5. A description of the proposed legal experience. Specific examples and descriptions of the proposed legal experience must be provided that demonstrate the articling candidate’s fulfillment of the experiential training competencies at the proposed articling placement.

6. A description of the proposed legal supervision that has been signed by the supervising lawyer.

Any documents that are not in English or French must be translated by an Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario (ATIO) Certified Translator. Candidates may wish to refer to ATIO's Directory of Certified Translators on its website at https://atio.on.ca/. In the case of Certificates of Standing, the original certificate must be sent by the issuing body of that jurisdiction directly to a certified translator. The certified translator must then send both the original and translated copies of the Certificate of Standing directly to Articling at the Law Society of Ontario.

The placement must be approved prior to the candidate’s start date, which can only be done after the Application for National or International Articling Placement is complete.

Proposed start dates that fall prior to the application being fully submitted (including all supporting documents) will not be approved. 

In order to avoid unauthorized practice issues, candidates and supervising lawyers are required to consult and comply with the home province’s rules and regulations regarding the permitted use of the designation of articling candidates during the placement as well as any rights of appearance in courts and tribunals that pertain thereto.

An Articles of Clerkship form is not required for national/international articling placements. However, upon completion of such a placement, the supervising lawyer shall submit the Certificate of Service under Articles. 

• Examples of National Articling Placements:

  • An articling placement served with a principal in Quebec who is providing the articling candidate with an experience that substantially deals with Quebec civil law.

  • An articling placement served with a principal in British Columbia who is providing the articling candidate with an experience that substantially deals with British Columbian wills and estates law.

• To apply for National or International articles, the following is required:

  1. Application for National or International Articling placement.

  2. Payment of the National/International Articling Application Fee.

  3. An original Certificate of Standing that must be sent directly by the issuing jurisdiction of the proposed supervising lawyer to the Licensing and Accreditation Department at the Law Society of Ontario.

  4. The proposed supervising lawyer must be: 

     • actively engaged in practice of law for 3 of the 5 years immediately preceding the intended articling placement;
     • an exemplar of the profession, having regard to all circumstances including but not limited to the lawyer's experience, competence, ethical standards, and professional conduct record. 
  
  

  5. A description of the proposed legal experience. Specific examples and descriptions of the proposed legal experience must be provided that demonstrate the articling candidate’s fulfillment of the experiential training competencies at the proposed articling placement.

  6. A description of the proposed legal supervision that has been signed by the supervising lawyer.

  
  Any documents that are not in English or French must be translated by an Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario (ATIO) Certified Translator. Candidates may wish to refer to ATIO's Directory of Certified Translators on its website at https://atio.on.ca/. In the case of Certificates of Standing, the original certificate must be sent by the issuing body of that jurisdiction directly to a certified translator. The certified translator must then send both the original and translated copies of the Certificate of Standing directly to Articling at the Law Society of Ontario.

  The placement must be approved prior to the candidate’s start date, which can only be done after the Application for National or International Articling Placement is complete.

  Proposed start dates that fall prior to the application being fully submitted (including all supporting documents) will not be approved. 

  In order to avoid unauthorized practice issues, candidates and supervising lawyers are required to consult and comply with the home province’s rules and regulations regarding the permitted use of the designation of articling candidates during the placement as well as any rights of appearance in courts and tribunals that pertain thereto.

  An Articles of Clerkship form is not required for national/international articling placements. However, upon completion of such a placement, the supervising lawyer shall submit the Certificate of Service under Articles. 

• Examples of International Articling Placements:
  • An articling placement with a principal in Hong Kong who is providing the articling candidate with an experience that substantially deals with Hong Kong real estate law.
  •  An articling placement in Boston with a lawyer called to the Massachusetts’ Bar who is providing the articling candidate with an experience that substantially deals with U.S. trade laws.
  • An articling placement with the War Crimes Tribunal under the direct supervision of a judge.

  
  Upon completion of an international articling placement, the supervising lawyer shall submit the Certificate of Service under Articles.