6 Attorneys Who Read the Law Like Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian has started a law apprenticeship.
Reality television celebrity Kim Kardashian West surprised fans with news that she is following in her father's footsteps by studying to become a lawyer. But rather than attend law school like most aspiring attorneys today, she's pursuing the profession by reading the law with mentors, an old-fashioned technique akin to an apprenticeship. Read on to learn more about this process and other famous people who read the law.
Sources include the University of Virginia Miller Center of Public Affairs, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, William & Mary Law School and United Farm Workers of America.
What does reading the law mean?
Before the proliferation of law schools, people who wanted to become attorneys often asked respected lawyers in their communities to serve as their mentors while they studied for the bar exam. The arrangements were sometimes similar to apprenticeships. Today, four states permit people to read the law rather than attend law school: California, where Kardashian West is studying, plus Virginia, Vermont and Washington.
Thomas Jefferson
Before he was governor of Virginia and the third president of the U.S., Thomas Jefferson read law in his home state of Virginia with prominent legal scholar George Wythe. Wythe later became the country's first law professor, at the College of William & Mary.
John Adams
As a young man in Worcester, Massachusetts, future U.S. president John Adams read law with a prominent local attorney. He went on to successfully defend the British soldiers charged with murder during the Boston Massacre.
John Marshall
As chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Marshall established the court's power to judicially review whether state or federal laws adhere to the principles of the Constitution. Long before he presided over the highest court in the land, Marshall read law and briefly studied with George Wythe.
Andrew Jackson
Future U.S. president Andrew Jackson was best known for his military career, but he also read law in North Carolina and worked as an attorney on the frontier.
Abraham Lincoln
The nation's 16th president taught himself law in Illinois before passing the state bar exam in 1836. Abraham Lincoln's success inspires the Sustainable Economies Law Center blog LikeLincoln.org, which chronicles life as a legal apprentice.
Mary Mecartney
Prominent agricultural union United Farm Workers of America trains law apprentices to study for the bar. Attorney Mary Mecartney, former executive board member for the union, is among the program's successful alumni.
People who have read law like Kim Kardashian include:
-- Thomas Jefferson.
-- John Adams.
-- John Marshall.
-- Andrew Jackson.
-- Abraham Lincoln.
-- Mary Mecartney.
