A Wharton's Law Lexicon szerint 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". A Blacks Law Dictionary szerint is ez a meghatározás csak más szavakkal.

De itt a szinoníma: trainee solciitor.

In the United Kingdom, Australia, Hong Kong, Ireland, and certain other English common law jurisdictions, a trainee solicitor is a prospective lawyer undergoing professional training at a law firm to qualify as a full-fledged solicitor. This period of training is known as a training contract and usually lasts for two years.

The barrister's equivalent would be twelve months' pupillage under a pupilmaster, in barristers' chambers, or for advocates in Scotland, eight or nine months devilling under a devilmaster.