Kim Kardashian wants to focus on prison reform after reality TV career

PanARMENIAN.Net - Reality TV star Kim Kardashian West is determined to become a lawyer — no matter what it takes, People magazine says.

On Sunday, May 5’s episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, the star opened up about her decision to begin a four-year apprenticeship with a law firm in San Francisco last summer, with the goal of taking the bar in 2022.

Kardashian West, 38, has been working with author and CNN commentator Van Jones and attorney Jessica Jackson, cofounders of #cut50, a national bipartisan advocacy group on criminal-justice reform, for months, visiting prisons, petitioning governors, and attending meetings at the White House. Last year, she successfully petitioned President Donald Trump to commute the life sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, a nonviolent drug offender.

Now, Kardashian West wants to focus all of her energy on prison reform, with the ultimate goal of making that her main purpose in life.

“It’s kind of crazy because I’m learning it all as I go,” she admitted. “I spend more time on this than I do anything else. It’s insane but it’s so fun to be around people that are super smart and get it and want the same thing.”

Kardashian West explained that her interest in criminal law came about after her father, the late Robert Kardashian, became a household name when he helped defend friend O.J. Simpson during his infamous 1994 murder trial.

“I told my dad years ago that I was really into criminal justice and he was like, ‘This will stress you out so much, you do not really want to take this on,’ ” she recalled. “I think now having gotten so deep in helping Alice [Marie Johnson], I’m really motivated to get to know the law more and fight for people who deserve a second chance like her.”

“I remember in the OJ case, I would be going through it and Kourtney would yell at me: ‘Stop going through all of dad’s stuff!’ ” she continued. “She was so upset, but I think he would be really proud of me. My dad always taught me that hard work is really important and to really commit to things, so my goal would be in like, 10 years, to give up being Kim K and just focus on this and be an attorney and fight for so many deserving people.”

“It would be really interesting and fun to have his Robert Kardashian plaque that I saw on his desk every day growing up and to have mine right next to it,” she added.

Though Kardashian West did attend Pierce College in Los Angeles for some time, she never graduated. However, California, as well as three other U.S. states, offer another path to passing the bar by “reading the law,” or apprenticing with a practicing lawyer or judge. If Kardashian West passes the “baby bar” this summer, she will be given the okay to continue for three more years of study.

So how does the apprenticeship work? Kardashian West has to log 18 hours of studying a week, five of which she’s monitored by her mentors. And with three kids and a fourth on the way, it’s no easy task.

“I’m dealing with my three kids, I’m dealing with my career, the fourth baby coming and the stress of law school,” she said. “Just because you do an apprenticeship does not mean that it’s anything less — I mean, you have to put in 18 hours a week. It is a full commitment. I won’t have time for events, for favors, for friends, for literally anything, for four years.”

“I’m not afraid to work hard,” she added. “It’s going to be really hard but it’s also really important to me to keep this quiet for a while so I can stay committed and focused.”