'Never underestimate Kim Kardashian': Lawyer who is helping the reality star to earn a law degree praises her focus and commitment - and insists people are wrong to doubt that she'll succeed
- Kim, 38, shocked the world when she said she was studying to be a lawyer
- Her interest in the career path comes after she worked to get President Donald Trump to pardon Alice Marie Jones for her nonviolent drug crime
- The reality star has worked with CNN's Van Jones and #Cut50 co-founder and lawyer Jessica Jackson in the last year
- Jackson, who is helping Kim study for her degree, said to not underestimate her
- 'Kim cares deeply about people who are negatively impacted by incarceration,' Jackson said about her passion
- Jackson's #Cut50 organization works to reduce the prison population nationally
Kim Kardashian West was met with a wide variety of reactions earlier this month when she revealed to Vogue that she is planning to become a lawyer, with some applauding her goal, while others chose to mock her.
But now one of the lawyers who is helping Kim earn her license has spoken out in support of the 38-year-old reality star — while warning others not to underestimate her abilities.
Speaking to Refinery29, Jessica Jackson praised Kim's determination and focus, and explained how her commitment to freeing grandmother Alice Marie Johnson, 63, from a lifelong prison sentence in 2018 sparked her fascination with the law.
New journey: Kim Kardashian West, 38, shocked the world when she announced she was studying to be a lawyer. Her passion for law stemmed from helping to free Alice Marie Johnson
Focused: The reality star has worked with CNN's Van Jones and #Cut50 co-founder and lawyer Jessica Jackson (pictured middle) in the last year to gain her license
Supportive: Jackson, who is helping Kim study for her degree, said to not underestimate her. The lawyer co-founded #Cut50, which works to reduce the prison population nationally
'I would say never underestimate Kim Kardashian West,' revealed Jackson, who helped to coordinate a meeting between Kim, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump on prison reform back in September 2018.
'In all her business ventures, she's been successful,' she continued. 'I have no reason to believe her commitment to criminal justice reform will be any different. Ms. Alice's story awakened something in her — something that resonates with her father's career as a lawyer.'
Kim's dad, the late Robert Kardashian, famously served on his friend OJ Simpson's defense team when he was accused of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson — so the reality star is no stranger to the career.
But people were still shocked that Kim — who is the CEO of KKW Beauty and executive producer of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, to name a few ventures — would consider the rigorous path to becoming a lawyer without a college degree.
'I had to think long and hard about this,' she told Vogue for its May issue.
'I just felt like I wanted to be able to fight for people who have paid their dues to society. I just felt like the system could be so different, and I wanted to fight to fix it, and if I knew more, I could do more.'
Three months prior to the September meeting, Kim visited President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House to discuss commuting Johnson's prison sentence. This meeting was set up by Trump's son-in-law after Kim first called Ivanka and explained Johnson's story.
The Tennessee grandmother was sentenced to life in prison in 1997 for committing a first-time nonviolent drug crime in Memphis. Kim first heard about her story from Twitter, and she knew something had to change.
The May meeting encouraged the president to commute Johnson's sentence in June so she could return home to her family after more than two decade behind bars.
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Empowered: Kim visited with President Donald Trump last year to discuss prison reform, specifically giving a pardon to Alice Marie Johnson for her nonviolent drug crime
Kim then began to work with Jones, Jackson and the #Cut50 organization on prison reform, including attending a meeting at the White House in September.
Jackson has a long-standing career in fighting for human rights, specifically for inmates on California's death row, and now works as the national director and co-founder of #Cut50 — a national initiative to reduce the prison population.
'Like everyone on the #Cut50 team, Kim cares deeply about people who are negatively impacted by incarceration,' Jackson said.
'She has spent time with us meeting with people living inside prisons, meeting with formerly incarcerated people, crafting policy, and working on individual cases, while also learning more about the law. I'm proud of the work she's doing.'
Jackson's organization #Cut50 has worked extensively with Kushner to pass the First Step Act in 2018, which is a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill.
One of the provisions in the bill focuses on is upholding the Fair Sentencing Act for crack cocaine crimes. Under the First Step Act, prisoners who were sentenced for cocaine-related crimes before 2010 will potentially receive a commuted sentence depending on their individual situations.
The First Step Act also keeps inmates at prisons closer to their families for specific circumstances and improves feminine hygiene products available to female prisoners.
Helping get the act pass in Congress is one of the many prison reform initiatives #Cut50 handles every year to improve the prison system in America.
On the grind: People criticized Kim for her new career path, but she said she intends to take the bar in 2022. She wants to help other people wrongfully incarcerated
Team of supporters: Kim has worked with Jackson and CNN's Van Jones in the last year while focusing on her new career. In a recent interview, Jones (right) called Kim 'brilliant'
Outside of working with #Cut50, Jackson is also helping Kim obtain her law license through mentoring.
Many people questioned how Kim would be able to earn a law license, as she has never graduated from college.
To address the critics, Kim shared a picture of herself studying law with Jackson and fellow #Cut50 lawyer Erin Haney on Instagram on April 15 and explained the process of getting her license.
'Last year I registered with the California State Bar to study law. For the next four years, a minimum of 18 hours a week is required, I will take written and multiple choice tests monthly,' Kim wrote.
Revealed: For Vogue's May issue, Kim spoke about her experience arguing for clemency for Johnson. The woman was the reason why Kim first visited the White House
She went on to explain why the idea to 'stay in my lane' would not stop the reality star from following her new career path.
'I want people to understand that there is nothing that should limit your pursuit of your dreams, and the accomplishment of new goals,' she continued. 'You can create your own lanes, just as I am. The state bar doesn’t care who you are.'
The route she is taking to complete the license requires 60 college credits, Kim has 75, and she then works as an apprentice at a law firm in San Francisco with the intention to take the bar in 2022.
Kim praised the team around her for helping her on the new career path with the intention to focus on those wrongfully incarcerated.
'I want to thank Van Jones for believing in me and introducing me to Jessica Jackson,' she wrote at the time. 'Jessica along with Erin Haney have taken on the role of my mentors and I am forever grateful to them both putting in so much time with me, believing in me and supporting me through this journey.'
Jackson is not the only one to praise Kim on her commitment to studying law.
When speaking on What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Jones said: 'I think like a lot of people, I had a misimpression, I still had her kinda like frozen in time back in the Paris Hilton days. She's brilliant.'
His reasoning for her being a good lawyer was 'because she's incredibly persuasive and persistent, and she eats law books for breakfast.'
