1. What are Shared Articles? How does it work?
“Shared” Articles are a non-traditional form of articling. Traditionally, students article for nine months with one lawyer who meets the Law Society of BC (LSBC) definition of “principal”. Non-traditional articles must be in a form that meets with the approval of the Law Society, and may take on four different forms:

• Part-time articles;
• Secondment of articles to work for another lawyer, in a different firm, for a maximum of eight weeks;
• Assignment of articles to a new principal; or
• Shared articles between two or more principals.

Each of these four forms of non-traditional articles requires different levels of approval by the Law Society.

2. How do I get approval from the Law Society for Shared Articles?
As with traditional articles, students and their principal(s) will enter an Articling Agreement, which must be included with your application to the Law Society Admission Program, along with the Articling Skills and Practice Checklist.

For secondments, no special application or approval by LSBC is required. This can be done informally by way of an arrangement between the principal and another lawyer.

For assignments, the articling student must apply to the LSBC to assign his or her articles to another principal.

For shared articles, approval from the Law Society Credentials Committee is required. Approval for shared articles may be sought by way of letter, together with the student’s LSAP application, to the Credentials Committee, including a description of the structure of the shared articles, the principals and how the shared articles meets the LSBC requirements, addressing the issues of supervision, potential conflicts of interest, and how the articling skills and practice checklist requirements will be met.

For more information regarding LSBC requirements, please go to "Can I arrange for split or shared articles to complete LSAP?”.

3. Will students completing shared articles have the same status as other students completing traditional articles?
Yes, shared articles are just another way of completing your articling requirement. Students are still required to complete the PLTC course and article for nine months. Participating in shared articles gives students the opportunity to article at more than one firm, with more than one principal. It is still necessary to complete all of the LSBC requirements.

4. Are there different timelines for doing shared articles?
Shared articles allow students to work with firms of more varied size and practice areas. Many of these firms will not participate in the regular Vancouver recruitment timeline. Therefore, the timing can be more flexible; most students will start articling either in the summer or fall after completing third year as with traditional articles. Students will most likely co-ordinate shared articles during third year of law school.

5. Do shared articles affect completing the PLTC program?
No. The PLTC course runs for ten weeks and is offered three times throughout the year in February, May, and September. Students can take the course before, during, or after the working term with the law firm(s). Students will need to communicate and co-ordinate with their principals about when to take the PLTC course.

6. How do I find more than one lawyer or firm to do shared articles with? How do I coordinate between them?
The Shared Articles Registry was created to be a “self-matching” system, enabling students to easily locate firms with available partial articles, and to coordinate their own shared articling program. Firms are listed in the database according to their geographical location, and have indicated the length of articles available (eg. six months; three months; two days per week, etc.), as well as the practice areas covered by the articles. Students may then select firms to apply to based upon their interest and preferred location(s).

7. Who will be the Principal during shared articles? Or will there be more than one?
The supervising lawyers involved in a shared articles program will need to determine how they will share, or assign this responsibility, and a description of the arrangement of Principal must be included in a request for approval to the Credentials Committee.

8. Who will pay salary and benefits during shared articles?
Similar to the determination of the role of Principal, the payment of salary and benefits will need to be determined by the parties involved. Generally speaking, salary and benefits are a private arrangement negotiated between the student and the principals. Payment of the Professional Legal Training Course (PLTC) fee is also an item that may be negotiated. Principals are encouraged to work with each other to ensure students are paid an adequate salary, and to take into account the cost of the PLTC course.

9. How will I ensure that the shared articles includes practical training in at least three Practice Areas, as required by the LSBC?
Please see “What is the Law Society Admission Program?” on the left menu bar, for more information on what is required by the LSBC. The LSBC is available to deal with questions and concerns that arise throughout the course of your articling term.

Member Services Department
Law Society of BC
845 Cambie Street
Vancouver BC V6B 4Z9
Direct Line: (604) 605-5311
Email: memberinfo@lsbc.org

10. How will I ensure that I fulfill the Articling Skills and Practice Checklist as required by the LSBC?
Again, please see “What is the Law Society Admission Program?” on the left menu bar, for more information on what is required by the LSBC. The LSBC is available to deal with questions and concerns that arise throughout the course of your articling term.

Member Services Department
Law Society of BC
845 Cambie Street
Vancouver BC V6B 4Z9
Direct Line: (604) 605-5311
Email: memberinfo@lsbc.org

11. Are there different expectations or requirements of students doing shared articles?
No, students doing shared articles are still required to abide by the terms of the Articling Agreement and Articling Guidelines.

12. How will I fulfill my evaluation requirements?
As with traditional articles, students and principal(s) are still required to complete a mid-term report, principal’s evaluation, and final documentation. The filing requirements may differ slightly, depending on whether the articles are shared, or include a secondment or an assignment. For example, a shared articles requires reports from both principals; a secondment does not require the supervising lawyer for the secondment to provide comments; an assignment of articles may require reports from each principal at different times.

13. What documents will I be required to file at the end of my shared articles to be eligible for Call and Admission? Where do I file them?
You will be required to file:

• Final report
• Skills and Practice Checklist

Students are required to coordinate with their principals and file these documents with the LSBC at the end of the shared articling term.

14. What happens if more than one firm or lawyer wants to hire the student back as an associate? What if none of them do?
As with non-shared articles, the potential of a longer term commitment with each firm should be discussed at the beginning of the articling term. It is the responsibility of the student and each firm or principal to communicate an interest in, and discuss the potential for, longer term commitment.

15. Do I have to be a member of the Canadian Bar Association to participate in this shared articles program?
You are not required to be a member of the CBA, but you are encouraged to become a member and participate in CBA events. There are many benefits to joining the CBA:

• Professional development opportunities
• Networking with future colleagues, potential mentors and employers
• Access to section meetings, conferences and publications
• Participate in law reform initiatives
• Prepare for future trends in the practice of law
• Discounts for entertainment events, hotels and merchandise

16. How does my firm sign up to be included in the Shared Articles Registry?
Firms can complete the Law Firm Registration Form online. Students are then responsible for applying to the various law firm postings to coordinate a full articling term. Firms and principals are encouraged to work with students to help facilitate the coordination, understanding that flexibility will likely be required. Principals are also encouraged to communicate with each other to ensure the student’s LSBC requirements are fulfilled.

CBABC Shared Articles Registry Disclaimer