Here’s Why Kim Kardashian Can Still Get a Law Degree Without Finishing College

Kim Kardashian made a low-key shocking announcement today when she said (via a Vogue interview) that she was studying to become a lawyer.

While this is maybe the most impressive/game-changing career pivot of all time, it raised one very important question: How can Kim become a lawyer and take the bar exam if she never finished college? Here’s the answer.

There’s a loophole in California law.

Okay, maybe it's not a loophole so much as just how the law is, but whatever, we’re not the lawyers here. According to Vogue, California is one of four states where you can still take the bar exam (the test that allows you to be a lawyer) without a college degree and without going to actual law school. You just have to do it through an apprenticeship with a lawyer or a law firm. That method is called "reading the law."

So wait, is Kim doing that?

Yes! She’s currently doing an apprenticeship with a San Francisco law firm. It’s four years long, and she’s hoping to take the bar exam in 2022.

But she’s not jetting off to San Fran every week, right?

Nope. Kim has two lawyer mentors who help her study for four hours at a time in a conference room of a law firm not far from Kim’s home. They study for 18 hours a week, which is...a lot.

What’s the next step for Kim?

Sometime this summer, she’ll take what’s known as the baby bar exam, which is administered by the state of California. If she passes that, she gets to continue with three more years of studying. In case you were wondering, that timeline would mean she started studying last summer. Kim!! Keepin’ all the secrets!!

What happens if she fails?

Oh, she’s def not gonna fail. In this interview, she talked about how much she’s kicking ass at this. “First year of law school,” Kim said, “you have to cover three subjects: criminal law, torts, and contracts. To me, torts is the most confusing, contracts the most boring, and crim law I can do in my sleep. Took my first test, I got a 100. Super easy for me. The reading is what really gets me. It’s so time-consuming. The concepts I grasp in two seconds.”

Yeah. Kim’s out here getting 100s on tests, like a true boss. Can’t wait to see you kill it in the courtroom, Kim!