Katie Zacharia Failed California Bar Exam, Despite Claiming To Be a Lawyer, Report Says

The new White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia, is facing fresh scrutiny following reports that she sat for the California bar exam after graduating from Pepperdine University’s law school in 2011 but failed the test.Ms. Zacharia took the exam around the time she was planning her wedding and preparing to relocate to China with her husband, the Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday, citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter. That summer, she moved to Beijing to work as an associate on the international practice team at Zhong Lun Law Firm, a major Chinese firm. She was later advised by lawyers that she could offer legal analysis based on her law degree and international transaction experience, the source said.The scrutiny began after Judd Legum, a journalist and progressive activist, raised questions in his Popular Information newsletter about Ms. Zacharia’s standing as an attorney, noting she didn’t appear in licensing searches for California, Texas, or Washington, D.C., under either her married or maiden name. During her media appearances, including many on Fox News, she was routinely identified as a “lawyer” — a term she also used herself. The controversy came to a head on Tuesday, when a reporter asked President Trump in which state Ms. Zacharia had passed the bar exam. Mr. Trump turned the question to Ms. Zacharia, who responded, “When I moved to China,” without further explanation.In a phone call with the New York Times on Wednesday, Ms. Zacharia said she had misheard the question entirely. “I assumed the question was, ‘Where were you after law school?'” she told the Times, explaining that noise from Marine One had drowned out the reporter’s words and that she hadn’t wanted to move closer to the president to ask him to repeat it.The terms “lawyer” and “attorney” are often used interchangeably in everyday speech, generally referring to someone who represents clients or advises them on legal matters. Some definitions extend “lawyer” to anyone who has graduated law school. But in most U.S. jurisdictions, individuals cannot describe themselves as practicing lawyers unless they’re licensed — typically requiring passage of a bar exam, an ethics test, and a character review.One section of California law makes it a misdemeanor to pretend to be a lawyer. The statute mandates that “Any person advertising or holding himself or herself out as practicing or entitled to practice law or otherwise practicing law who is not an active licensee of the State Bar, or otherwise authorized pursuant to statute or court rule to practice law in this state at the time of doing so, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in a county jail or by a fine of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.” The Bar Examiner, a website that describes itself as “the bar admissions information source,” says even someone who has passed the bar exam should not immediately start calling him or herself “counselor,” “attorney,” “lawyer,” or “esquire.”“It’s important, though, that you (and your employer) not use any of these titles until you are certain that you are authorized to do so under the rules of your jurisdiction. Holding yourself out as an attorney before you are licensed falls under the category of ‘unauthorized practice of law’ and is typically considered grounds for a character and fitness inquiry,” the site says. “So, update your resume, your LinkedIn page, your Instagram profile, and your email signature to tout your graduation (‘Jane Doe, JD’) and your bar passage (‘Passed Franklin Bar Exam, July 2024’), but be careful not to step over the line to calling yourself a lawyer, an attorney, counselor, or esquire until your court makes it official,” says the site.In her defense, Ms. Zacharia said she “consulted with Pepperdine’s president about how she could identify herself in media appearances, and he told her not to use the words ‘attorney’ or ‘esquire,’ but that ‘lawyer’ was acceptable,” Forbes reported.The California bar exam is widely regarded as one of the toughest in the country. According to the state bar association, only about 55 percent of test-takers passed the July 2025 exam, and roughly 31 percent passed in February of this year.Notably, Ms. Zacharia did pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination — a separate test assessing understanding of legal and professional ethics — before sitting for the bar, according to the person familiar with the matter.The scrutiny over Ms. Zacharia’s credentials has escalated into a formal legal complaint. The watchdog group Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint Wednesday with the State Bar of California, alleging Ms. Zacharia violated state law by repeatedly claiming to be a lawyer despite lacking a license anywhere in the country. The complaint cites California Business and Professions Code sections prohibiting the unauthorized practice of law, which can carry misdemeanor penalties, including up to a year in jail or a $1,000 fine.The White House has stood by its press secretary. “Katie is a fabulous and wonderful addition to the team,” White House spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement. “She is uniquely qualified and whip smart to help inform the American people about all the great things President Trump and his Administration have been doing, and she will do an incredible job as Press Secretary.”A White House official also said Ms. Zacharia was not hired to work on legal matters.

Katie Zacharia Failed California Bar Exam, Despite Claiming To Be a Lawyer, Report Says

Katie Zacharia Failed California Bar Exam, Despite Claiming To Be a Lawyer, Report Says

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