The Dream of "Kim Kardashian, Attorney at Law" Has Hit a Snag
Kim Kardashian’s dreams of becoming a lawyer may be on hold for now, as the reality star revealed that she failed the California state “baby bar” exam. In a new clip for the final season of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Kim tells her sisters Khloé and Kourtney Kardashian the disappointing news and meets with the lawyer who has been guiding her throughout her law school studies.
“You needed a 560 [score],” said Jessica Jackson, Kim’s mentor attorney. “You got a 474,” and reassured that her score is “extremely close on the test that most people are not taking in the middle of a pandemic.” Kim is not placated by the encouragement; “I am a failure,” she laments, explaining that “I spent six weeks straight, 10 or 12 hours a day, studying, and it was so important for me to take this. And to not pass gets your spirit down, and makes you want to give up.”
“I feel like Dad would be really proud of you, regardless,” said Kourtney, trying to comfort Kim. Kim, Khloé, and Kourtney’s late attorney father, Robert Kardashian.
Kim was especially frustrated when she considered how the exam preparations impacted her family. “That’s what pisses me off,” she said to Khloé. “The fact that I spent all that time away from my kids...I can’t do it again. I don’t have time, the next test is in November [2020].” Khloé noted that, as of the filming of this segment, that was “one month away.” Kim explained that it would be impossible: she will be busy filming the end of KUTWK, she has “every birthday under the sun,” including her own 40th birthday.
The next opportunity for Kim to take the test will be in June 2021, though she expressed that she “doesn’t want to wait for another year to go by for school.”
It’s important to distinguish between the regular state bar exam and the baby bar. In the state of California, students do not need an undergraduate or law school degree in order to take the bar exam. As CNBC explains, such law aspirants can enroll in an apprenticeship program with a certified and accredited lawyer or firm. After a year of apprenticeship, students are required to take the baby bar in order to continue pursuing their studies, and eventually take the regular bar exam.
Kim was inspired to become a lawyer after taking an interest in criminal justice reform, particularly in harsh sentencing and releasing innocent inmates. In 2020, she successfully lobbied the White House to grant a full pardon to Alice Marie Johnson, and advocated for the release of Cyntoia Brown.
In the immortal words of Elle Woods, “What, like it’s hard?” Yes, the baby bar is very hard — while, according to Bloomberg Law, a record number of legal students passed the regular CA bar exam in 2020, the baby bar pass rate was only 24% in 2019. Additionally, Kim was also dealing with the stress of going through the precursors of a divorce with her soon-to-be ex-husband Kanye West. We’ve all fallen short of goals in our life, so let’s cut her some slack as she works through her legal ambitions.
