The Kardashians are royalty in the world of reality TV, and the queen herself, Kim, announced in 2019 her plans to become a criminal justice lawyer.
Daughter of Robert Kardashian, who worked on the infamous OJ Simpson case, Kim kicked of her carreer in law in getting Alice Johnson out of prison. Alice was imprisoned in 1996 for a first time, non violent offence and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The injustice of this case had sparked fury, and upon Kim's involvement and through use of her contacts, Alice was released.
Since her initial involvement, Kim has set up the Justice Project, a documentary following her journey into the legal profession in which she sets out to ask for those who have been wrongly convicted to recieve a better chance.
Kim's desire to become a lawyer without going to law school (though this is an acceptable and official option in the state of California) sparked backlash.
It is important to note that although Kim is not attending law school, she is still recieving a legal education and will sit the bar alongside every other potential lawyer in 2022. Many have argued that Kim has an easy way in that she has only been able to achieve due to her status, though this simply is not correct. The route Kim has taken is in reality, one of the hardest methods to become a lawyer. It is a four year process before Kim can even sit the bar exam, after year one, she takes the baby bar, and only if she passes, she can study for another three years to take the final exam, all of this time, mostly relying on tutors and books, rather than constant assistance offered to university students, at the same time as having an already established career, business, and four children. The route she has taken is also actually cheaper than attending university, and so her pathway to law cannot be considered one of privilege.
It is, however, important to note that Kim has many contacts that others will not, and will most likely not be struggling to find an internship at the end of her degree. Of course there is a level of this being somewhat unfair, and the privilege would have existed whatever happened as not everyone has a parent in law, nor do they have access to simply talk to the president and ask him to vote clemency. Despite this, it is still important to note that if Kim is using her privilege for good, and in order to make a change for the better, should she still be facing hatred?
All in all, Kim has done what people have been asking her to do for years, and landed herself a 'real' job, she is one of the few celebrities using her platform for good and to make a real change in the world, and for this, we should applaud her, rather than reject her efforts.
