About Articling

2023-2024 Articling Term

For a June 1, 2023 articling start date, please submit your application by April 1, 2023.

Articled Clerks must complete a 12-month articling term, which includes the Bar Admission Program.

Articling/Bar Admission Program Virtual Information Session

Watch the recording of the NSBS/CPLED Articling/PREP Information Session held on February 15, 2023.

Paper Applications Not Required

Please note that we do not require a paper copy of your articling application. E-mail the documents supporting your application to a [email protected] Note that you can scan documents using most smartphones.

Please allow 2 business days after submitting your application before contacting us to process the application fee by:

Credit card by calling us at 902-422-1491
Online banking – Please call us at 902-422-1491 & we will provide you with an ID number required for the articled clerk. You will then add Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society as a payee under bill payments and use the ID number with two zeros at the beginning as the account number.
Invoice – Please contact Erika Hosking at [email protected] to request an invoice.

We do not accept e-transfer payments.

Articling Handbook

Review the Articling Handbook (PDF)Download

What is an Articled Clerk?

Articled clerks are members of the Society who are enrolled in the bar admission program.

What is articling?

Articling is a period of experiential learning meant to assist in the transition from law school to the actual practice of law. 

During articling the goal is to provide each articled clerk with an opportunity to gain experience in a variety of relevant areas, including (but not limited to) professional responsibility, personal practice and office management, interviewing and advising, negotiation, and advocacy. 

A clerk’s work must be supervised by other lawyers, who provide constructive feedback and assist them in learning legal practice and client management skills.

A clerk may commence articling throughout the calendar year on the first of any month however, June 1 is the most common start date.

What are the prerequisites for applying to article?

To be eligible to commence articles and apply to the Society, you must:

have a law degree;
be lawfully entitled to work in Canada; and
have an articling position arranged.

How do I find an articling position?

Applicants are encouraged to review CPLED’s articling search resources and supports including their Student Resume Directory. Applicants can create a profile for CPLED’s directory to attract legal recruiters searching for articling students.

We also encourage applicants to review the Society’s Career Opportunities page as firms will often post articling opportunities to the Society’s website.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to find an articling position. An applicant can participate in interviewing sessions at law school and send out resumés to firms.

The traditional articling position will have a clerk working with a qualified principal or supervising lawyer. There are also a number of other ways to fulfil the articling requirement, including sharing articles among several legal services providers over the course of the articling term, seconding to another lawyer for part of the term, and completing articles on a part-time basis.

Applicants who have completed clerkships in other provinces may apply for credit toward the requirement.

How do I apply?

Before beginning articles, an applicant must apply to the Society to become an Articled Clerk. Applicants must submit the Articling Application Form through our website, along with the relevant documentation listed in the checklist found at the beginning of the form.

Some of the documentation is completed in conjunction with your Principal, who also must apply to the Society to become a Principal. They will automatically be emailed this form upon the submission of your application

We process completed applications in the order in which they are received. Please submit your application at least six weeks prior to your preferred articling start date (or by April 1 if applying to begin on June 1) or your start date may be delayed.

You may submit your application prior to registering for PREP.

Articled Clerk Information Documents

Bar Review Materials (Please note: the Bar Review Materials are updated every three years. They were last updated on May 1, 2020.)
Articling Handbook (PDF)
Articling and Admissions Guidelines (PDF)
Competency Framework (PDF)
Guide for New Lawyers (PDF)
Statement of Articling and Admission Process Purpose and Principles (PDF)