An article clerk is an apprentice in a professional firm in Commonwealth countries. Generally the term arises in the accountancy profession and in the legal profession. The articled clerk signs a contract, known as "articles of clerkship", committing to a fixed period of employment. The other party to the contract, the principal, undertakes during this period to provide training and relevant experience in the practice. Note that the contract is with a specific partner in the firm and not the firm as a whole. Nowadays some professions in some countries prefer to call their apprentices "students" or "trainees" (e.g. a trainee solicitor) and the articles of clerkship "training contracts".