Kim Kardashian earns her law degree after six years

Would you be willing to let Kim Kardashian fight to get you out of jail? Or handle your divorce settlement? What if she had to go to the police station in the middle of the night to get you released on a minor charge? While the question may sound disconcerting, it’s not far from the truth. Kardashian, 44, has officially graduated in law after six years of study under a legal apprenticeship program with a law firm in California. If she passes the Bar examination, she will officially be able to practice law in that state.

Known as a businesswoman but above all as a reality TV star thanks to the family show that bears her name, and as a pioneer of exposing the miseries and grandeurs of the rich and famous, Kardashian shared news of her achievement through her family’s social media channels. And of course, she did it in a peculiar way: by showing scenes from her unusual graduation ceremony, where she was alone with just a couple of classmates in the backyard of her house. It was her younger sister, Khloé, who uploaded half a dozen videos on her Instagram account where Kim is seen listening to speeches from some of her mentors and putting on her graduation cap. “I am so proud of Kim,” Khloé said later in a video. “I am so proud of Kim. I just left her celebration lunch for graduating from law school. I mean, I cannot believe this is years and years in the making.”

Two of her mentors present at the private ceremony said that Kardashian’s journey has been one of the most inspiring ever. “Six years ago, Kim Kardashian walked into this program with nothing but a fierce desire to fight for justice. No law school lectures, no ivory tower shortcuts, just determination,” said one. “During this program, Kim has dedicated 18 hours a week, 48 weeks a year for six straight years. That’s 5,148 hours of legal study. That’s time she carved out while raising four children, running businesses, filming television shows and showing up in courtrooms to advocate for others.” And then Khloé spoke: “And still fabulous.”

Despite the sweltering temperatures of nearly 86°F in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Kardashian wore a gray wool sweater, a dark skirt and black tights, along with towering white heels. The next of her mentors continued her praise, stating that Kim has fought to reunite families and bring national attention to the most complex aspects of our national legal system. Social rights activist and CNN host Van Jones also spoke at the graduation, thanking the businesswoman for her efforts.

It was just over six years ago that Kardashian publicly revealed she was studying to become a lawyer. It happened almost by chance—or perhaps not, given the always carefully curated narratives of the Kardashians’ lives—during an interview with Vogue magazine. While interviewing her at her home, reporters came across a series of law books. She then explained that she had begun a legal apprenticeship with a law firm in San Francisco and was aiming to earn her law degree in 2022.

However, with the Covid-19 pandemic and her many occupations, that time has expanded to just over six years. Kardashian hasn’t studied at a traditional university; her busy social, work, family, and business schedule—which has led to her amassing a fortune of $1.7 billion, according to Forbes—hasn’t allowed it. Instead, she opted for a program available in California called the Law Office Study Program (LOSP), which allows participants to earn a degree and take the bar exam.

In 2021, Kanye West’s ex-wife managed to pass the so-called Baby Bar — proving the completion of the first year of study for students taking unaccredited law classes —which she had failed three times, including once after contracting Covid. This was the first of the two required exams to become a practicing lawyer. The second one is the Bar proper, with around 200 questions on half a dozen topics, lasting two days, and costing between $700 and $1,000. In the state of California, it’s especially difficult, and only 54% of applicants manage to pass it.

Kardashian’s passion for legal matters goes back to her own father, the late Robert Kardashian, a lawyer who defended O.J. Simpson in his famous trial in the mid-1990s. She herself said in the interview with Vogue six years ago that she was also influenced by his defense of a woman named Alice Marie Johnson. After interceding on her behalf with Donald Trump in May 2018, Kardashian secured a pardon from the president. Johnson, then 63, had been sentenced to life in prison and had spent more than 20 years behind bars for a non-violent drug offense. That same year, in September, she campaigned to pardon another woman, Chris Young, also sentenced to life in prison in 2006 for murdering a man who had paid her to have sex with her when she was 16. Once again, she won a pardon. In recent years, she has spoken out and called for sentence reviews for dozens of prisoners, including the high-profile Menéndez brothers.

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