Kim Kardashian Gives Timeline for Becoming Trial Lawyer
Kim Kardashian’s journey to become a lawyer has been one of the most unexpected transformations in pop culture. What began as a reality TV star’s curiosity about criminal justice reform evolved into a serious pursuit of law and advocacy. After being moved by stories of wrongfully incarcerated individuals, Kim began a four-year legal apprenticeship in California, balancing her studies with her career and parenting. Recently, the star gave a timeline for when she plans to become a trial lawyer. Here’s what she said.
Kim Kardashian says she plans to become a trial lawyer in ‘maybe 10 years’
Through her apprenticeship in California, Kim Kardashian embarked on an intensive, research-rich journey that merged real-world legal practice with academic rigor.
Beginning in 2018 under the Law Office Study Program, an alternative pathway that allows studying under a practicing attorney instead of attending law school, Kim logged approximately 18 hours of supervised study per week for 48 weeks each year. Her curriculum required her to pore over case law books, statutes, and legal texts. She had to write essays and complete monthly assessments as well as research areas such as criminal law, torts, and contracts. In 2021, Kim passed the “baby bar,” the First-Year Law Student’s Examination, after several attempts. In May 2025, Kim graduated from the California State Bar program.
According to People, Kim appeared on BBC’s The Graham Norton Show on Oct. 24. She discussed her possible future in law, including a timeline for when she hopes to become a trial lawyer.
“I will be qualified in two weeks,” she said. “I hope to practice law. Maybe in 10 years, I think I’ll give up being Kim K and be a trial lawyer. That’s what I really want.”
Will Kim Kardashian give up reality TV completely?
Kim Kardashian mentioned that she’d be willing to “give up being Kim K.” She first burst into the public eye via Keeping Up with the Kardashians. This long-running E! series chronicled her family’s life and made her name a household one. From there, Kim leveraged fame into successful business ventures, chief among them her shapewear line, SKIMS, and the beauty brand, KKW. In The Kardashians Season 7, she continues to share her personal evolution, from motherhood to litigation, as she navigates public life.
In 2023, Kim admitted that she thinks she’d be just as happy practicing law as she would be as a reality TV star.
“I would be just as happy being an attorney full-time,” she said at the TIME100 Summit, according to People. “The journey just really opened up my eyes so much. It gets overwhelming because there’s so much to be done.”
With this in mind, it seems Kim may leave reality TV behind someday.
Kourtney Kardashian believes her sister will make an excellent lawyer
Kim Kardashian’s final step in her six-year legal education journey was marked by an intimate celebration of her completion of the California “reading the law” apprenticeship program. At a surprise backyard ceremony held on May 21, 2025, she donned a mortarboard cap and received a certificate of completion. Family, mentors, and friends cheered her on.
Joining the celebration were her children, sisters Khloé and Kourtney Kardashian, longtime friend and advocate Van Jones (who delivered a congratulatory speech), and her mentor attorney, Jessica Jackson.
Previously, Kourtney told Vogue that Kim has the makings of a great lawyer.
“It’s because she seems to have all the answers or something,” Kourtney said. “Like, she just kind of knows. Khloé and I can be a little argumentative with my mom, but Kim knows what she needs to say so that my mother can hear it and she can get her point across.”
