Kim Kardashian graduates law program after 6 years

[Jilly_in_VA]

Kim Kardashian announced she has completed her law program on Wednesday after 6 years of legal studies.

Khloe Kardashian shared photos of her sister's private ceremony on her Instagram stories. The ceremony featured speeches from Kim's mentors, CNN political commentator Van Jones, and the graduate herself.

"All of you guys have been on this journey with me," Kim Kardashian said in her speech. "It did start with Van and I."

The reality television star said she was "dumbfounded" by the state of the legal system when she first began this journey years ago.

Kim Kardashian began her legal studies in 2019, telling Vogue magazine her passion for prison reform inspired her decision to pursue legal education. Although the entertainment mogul never obtained an undergraduate degree, California's "reading law" process allows future lawyers to participate in apprentice-style learning under a licensed attorney instead of attending a formal law school.

In March, E! News reported that the 44-year-old took the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE), a requirement for admission to the California bar.

https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/kim-kardashian-graduates-law-program-6-years-rcna208482

Wow. Congratulations, Kim Kardashian, Esq. She can actually lend her celebrity name to causes, much like Paris Hilton, which is not necessarily a bad thing if she picks the right one.

[efhmc]

1. Good grief. It is Van and me, not I.

[spooky3]

5. It's always annoying to hear people who are

Allegedly well-educated do this. 😡

[marybourg]

7. I would not use the term "Well educated" here.

From the OP: “Although the entertainment mogul never obtained an undergraduate degree, California's "reading law" process allows future lawyers to participate in apprentice-style learning under a licensed attorney instead of attending a formal law school.”

[hlthe2b]

12. Yes. While I want to credit her efforts, "reading law" as an apprentice under an established lawyer allows a lot of

latitude that she would never receive in law school.

I'll give her her due when/if she passes the bar exam. Despite that article's seeming suggestion otherwise, the separate MPRE (Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination) exam, which is an ethics exam, is not a substitute for the bar exam. That is a hurdle that still awaits her.

[marybourg]

15. Yup.

[Jilly_in_VA]

20. It's how my grandfather obtained his degree

Of course this was back in the early 1900s and that was how most lawyers did it then, and that is what California and a few other states allow. And of course she still has to pass the bar, but if Pam Bondi can do it, so can she.

[hlthe2b]

22. Yes. Many/most Supreme Court justices prior to the 20th century did so as well.

I'm a fan of self-education initiatives--as long as they can pass the bar and show competence. She may well prove herself as dedicated and effective as those of her cohort who attended the best law schools. I hope so.

[spooky3]

24. Interesting! I didn't not know that. But I do have friends

(And see TV pundits) with advanced degrees who don’t understand object-of-preposition rules.

[marybourg]

34. That's a little more complex than

differentiating between the subject “I” and the object “me”.

[spooky3]

40. Not really. It's simply the basis for determining that

“Me” rather than “I” (etc.) is correct.

Here is a good description:

https://quillbot.com/blog/sentence-and-word-structure/object-of-a-preposition/

[Jilly_in_VA]

43. I also have a good friend

who read for her divinity degree in the Episcopal Church. Her diocese (West Virginia) is one of the few that allow it, due to the scarcity of priests, I think. She was well educated to begin with, however.

[DFW]

29. The key word there being....

“Allegedly”

[spooky3]

41. Exactly. I have a friend with a PhD from a good school who makes these errors.

She’s a good person, but her misuse has just the opposite of the intended effect.

[3catwoman3]

10. It totally mystifies me that people never mess this up in the singular, only in the plural.

She wouldn't have said, "It started with we." It's really not hard to speak properly.

[marybourg]

17. Just like "Me and Bob went to the store". People

who say that wouldn’t say “Me went to the store”, but when there’s a compound subject they fail.

[spooky3]

25. In her early days on TV, Judge Judy would correct litigants by

Saying “Bob and i went…” but I think she gave up in frustration.

[3catwoman3]

30. The atrocity that is especially driving me crazy of late...

...is people making a possessive out of "I" - John and I's vacation."

I's isn't even a word! Aauuugggghhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[marybourg]

33. That

is an atrocity! I don’t know that I’ve ever heard that from anyone older than about 2.

[MIButterfly]

27. Thank you!

I know it's currently used all the time and it drives me nuts. Nobody would say "It did start with I" so why the hell would they say 'it did start with Van and I"?

It just makes the speaker sound ignorant to me.

[DFW]

28. I was going to say

How did she get a law degree if she can’t even write in English?

Law degrees in the USA are not (yet, anyway) issued written in Republicanese.

[marybourg]

35. She didn't get a degree; she did an apprenticeship.

She doesn’t have an undergraduate degree either.

[DFW]

38. Figures. Here, from the Official Dictionary of Republicanese:

In Republicanese, pronouns that are direct or indirect objects must never be used as in English when combined with another proper name, proper noun, or pronoun.

Example: in English, one says, e.g., “John went to dinner with me,” and not “John went to dinner with I.” Therefore, in English, one also says, “John went to dinner with my wife and me.” In Republicanese, while it is also correct to say, “John went to dinner with me,” it is only correct to say “John went to dinner with my wife and I.”

[Traildogbob]

2. Bless her heart

And this poor woman will be crushed by the weight of debt she now has just trying to make something of herself. Maybe she can help defend trans people rights, especially GQP trans, that have to be the most vulnerable to hate.

[Rebl2]

3. I

thought she graduated years ago

[stillcool]

4. Good for her.

I think education is always a noble endeavor, depending on who is doing the teaching. It's difficult enough these days to afford the luxury of an education, but it's only going to get worse, and with prison reform that education can be utilized yesterday.

[choie]

6. Van Jones?

Who is he again?

[Raven]

8. Her next challenge will be the Bar Exam.

[no_hypocrisy]

26. Good luck with that.

I could be wrong, but I understand that despite graduating from New York University Law School, Jared Kushner hasn’t passed the Bar. Nor has Tiffany Trump.

[Skittles]

32. I am impressed

I would have thought the obscenely rich would be somehow able to buy their, er, "pass".

[no_hypocrisy]

36. It's one thing to buy a J.D. (Juris Doctor). It's another thing to pass the Bar.

Remember that if you can't represent your clients fully and professionally, they'll lose money or their freedom. And if you're an Associate in a firm and you f*ck up, the whole firm is sued for malpractice and gets a stain on its reputation.

Passing the Bar is the way you have a modicum of reliability. You can't go running to the Partners and other Associates every day and ask about court procedure or how to do legal research. You have to be able to work independently. And no, you can't let your paralegals do all the work and you take the credit.

[Jilly_in_VA]

44. But Michael Cohen did

despite graduating from a fifth-rate law school. Which just shows to go you, as my dad was wont to say.

[Johonny]

9. How soon before the Trump justice department

Snaps her up?

[3catwoman3]

11. It would be interesting to know how she would have done in a traditional...

...law school.

[Jilly_in_VA]

45. I think she's more interested in prison reform.

She has often said so. And she's rich enough to do pro bono work too.

[Arazi]

13. Well done. I confess I know zero about the Kardashians

But she persevered and hopes to work in prison reform. This wasn’t an easy “gimme”. She’s already finished her course work, passed the baby bar and the MPRE.

More celebrities should be as committed to social justice.

[Initech]

14. Just know they are friends with the Trumps and have been spotted at Mar-A-Shithole.

[Arazi]

16. Yeah I knew that (and the relationship to Caitlyn Jenner)

But I guess I only have an impression that they’re socialites/influencers? Fluffers and fashion.

Not that any of them were into solid social justice work. Can only hope she’ll use her insider status for some good

[Canada Kid]

18. Congratulations!!

A Kardashian with brains! How refreshing!

[hlthe2b]

19. Maybe.. She "read the law" as an apprentice to a lawyer--bypassing law school... She still has to PASS the bar exam.

That said, I wish her luck and credit her efforts. Anyone who seeks to self-study is worthy of respect in my book.

THIS may be her "escape hatch" from all the superficiality of her appearance-obsessed earlier years and if so, I truly applaud her.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

39. Her father was an attorney.

He represented O.J. Simpson. So, he graduated law school AND passed the CA bar.

[Solly Mack]

21. Good on her. No snark here.

[Fiendish Thingy]

23. I don't think she gets to use "Esq" as she does not have a JD

Her degree/license is that of an apprentice, and she has yet to pass the state bar exam.

[still-prayin4rain]

31. Good for her!

[Jacson6]

37. I guess this means an AI assist helps people get a law degree?

[Iggo]

42. That should be "...with Van and me."

Well at least she’s a college guh-gag-ua.

[no_hypocrisy]

46. Postscript

What KK missed when she essentially took a law school correspondence course:

1. Debating the law with classmates
2. Being grilled by a relentless professor to see if she really understood the dynamics of a case, such as the Rationale for the decision, not just remembering the decision
3. No experience in researching the arcane cases in stare decisis to bolster a legal premise
4. No experience in legal writing, e.g., memoranda, briefs
5. No discussion of the specific area of law in a class (e.g., contracts, corporations, family law, property law, etc.)

Either she starts her own firm and has her associates do all the work and let them go to court for her -- or she can sit at her desk and complete estate documents from templates on her computer.

[iemanja]

47. She still has to pass the bar exam

[Jersey Devil]

48. She didn't "graduate"

There is no set program for reading the law or any way to determine when it is finished until someone passes the bar exam. Most states that allow this have a minimum time you must serve reading the law but there are no exams or curriculum to follow.

As a law school graduate (which is a 3 year program), I just can't imagine how "reading the law" could possibly educate someone enough to pass the bar exam. There would have to be some kind of unofficial reading list and discussions to get even close to the kind of knowledge you would need for the bar exam, unless they are a hell of a lot easier than when I took the exam many years ago. If she passes the exam she must be one hellova smart person.