Kim Kardashian received disappointing news on Saturday when she learned that she had not passed the California Bar Exam. “Well… I’m not a lawyer yet, I just play a very well-dressed one on TV. Six years into this law journey, and I’m still all in until I pass the bar. No shortcuts, no giving up — just more studying and even more determination,” she wrote on Instagram.
Why is Kim Kardashian appearing for the bar?
A career in law may seem like an unusual pursuit for an internationally-known reality TV star and entrepreneur, but Kim Kardashian had revealed her ambition to become a licensed attorney in the state six years ago.
The 45-year-old has even opened up about the kind of lawyer she wants to be. “Maybe in 10 years, I think I’ll give up being Kim K and be a trial lawyer,” she said on the October 24 episode of The Graham Norton Show. “That’s what I really want.”
Kim is the daughter of Robert Kardashian, the American attorney who gained national recognition as OJ Simpson’s friend and defense attorney during Simpson’s 1995 murder trial.
Kim Kardashian’s law education so far
Kim announced in 2019 that she was studying law in California via an apprenticeship route, rather than the traditional law‑school path.
In California (and a few other US states) there’s a route called “reading the law” or apprenticeship under a practising attorney, enabling one to qualify to take the bar without attending a standard law school.
Kim began a four-year apprenticeship with a San Francisco law firm in 2018 and attempted the “baby bar” exam, which marks the completion of the first year for students in unaccredited law programs, three times.
She successfully passed the baby bar in her fourth attempt in 2021. Passing the baby bar — better known as the First‑Year Law Students’ Examination — allowed her to sit for the California State Bar exam in July, the results of which were declared Saturday.
How tough is the bar exam?
The California bar exam is actually considered to be the toughest bar exam in the United States by some experts. As noted by the One Legal website, it is known for its demanding content and comparatively low pass rates. Even after the state lowered its passing score from 1,440 to 1,390, the benchmark remains higher than the 1,350 required in many other states.
According to the official exam website, the bar exam is given over two days and consists of five one-hour essay questions, one 90-minute performance test, and 200 multiple choice questions.
The State Bar of California reported Friday that 54.8 percent of exam takers passed the July 2025 General Bar Examination. Kim Kardashian was not one of the lucky few who managed to pass.
