Articling is the second-last hurdle you have to pass before you become a lawyer. Articles are a kind of year-long apprenticeship, just the way masons, fabric dyers and carpenters apprenticed to <span class="noglossary">master</span> crafters in the middle ages. The point of articles is to give you a hands-on introduction to the practice of law at under the tutelage of a senior lawyer, your ''principal''. As an articled student, you are insured by your principal and are permitted to practice law in a certain limited capacity. You are also subject to certain restrictions and requirements of the provincial law society and its rules of conduct and practice.