What is the "Baby Bar Exam" That Kim Kardashian Just Passed?
Kim Kardashian is one step closer to becoming an attorney.
"OMFGGGG I PASSED THE BABY BAR EXAM!!!!" the entrepreneur announced to her 269 million Instagram followers on Monday morning. She added that it was her fourth time taking the exam: "For anyone who doesn’t know my law school journey, know this wasn’t easy or handed to me. I failed this exam 3 times in 2 years, but I got back up each time and studied harder and tried again until I did it!!!"
Kardashian is taking a non-traditional route to become an admitted attorney. (I know because I took the regular path of going to law school, passing a bar exam, and getting sworn in as an attorney earlier this year.) The social media star is taking advantage of an option in California that allows students to sit for the state bar exam after a period of study in a law office or judge's chamber. (Along with Virginia, Vermont, and Washington, California is one of only four states that allows students to study law through an apprenticeship instead of attending law school.)
California's bar exam is considered to be one of the hardest in the country, with one of the lowest pass rates. But before students taking the apprenticeship path like Kardashian can sit for that bar exam, they have to pass the First-Year Law Students’ Examination, also known as the "Baby Bar."
What Exactly is the Baby Bar Exam?
After completing one year of law study, applicants participating in California's law office/judge’s chambers program are qualified to take the First-Year Law Students’ Examination.
The one-day test is offered remotely in June and October. It includes both essay and multiple-choice questions, with four hours allotted for completing the four-essay question portion of the exam and three hours for 100 multiple-choice questions.
What Does It Test?
The subjects covered on the exam are Contracts, Criminal Law, and Torts. According to the State Bar of California: "An answer based upon legal theories and principles of general applicability is sufficient; detailed knowledge of California law is not required."
Who Is Required to Take It?
Only students studying law through an apprenticeship, like Kardashian, or at an unaccredited law school are required to take the Baby Bar. Students at accredited law schools are generally exempt from the exam.
How Hard Is It?
That does not mean it's easy though. Only 20.7 percent of the 275 candidates who took the June 2021 Baby Bar exam passed. California has not released the pass rate of the October administration of the exam, the one Kardashian seems to have passed considering that the state told October test-takers to expect their results in mid-December. For comparison, 53 percent of applicants passed California's June 2021 General Bar Exam.
So, congratulations to Kim Kardashian, or the future Kim Kardashian, Esq.
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