Celebrating Women in Law
International Women’s Day is taking place on March 8th, with this year’s theme being “Choose to Challenge”. With that in mind, this article is dedicated to Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) – one of the most iconic female lawyers in cinematic history. In the film Legally Blonde, she challenges societal prejudices and embraces her individuality as well as femininity. Elle is not only a fashion icon of the early 2000s, but she is also a heroine for many female lawyers, having inspired a generation of women to become lawyers in a traditionally male-dominated field.
Plot
After her boyfriend breaks up with her, because he does not consider Elle to be girlfriend material for a future politician, she wants to show him that he is wrong about her. In an attempt to win him back, Elle decides to apply to the same law school and follow him across the country, from California to Massachusetts. Against all odds, Harvard Law School accepts the former sorority president to increase diversity amongst its student body. The audience follows Elle from struggling with adapting to life as a law student to interning with a law firm, and finally, to graduating as valedictorian at the end of the film. Legally Blonde is more than the typical story of an underdog proving the sceptics wrong and beating the odds.
Applying to Law School
When Elle shares her plans to apply to go to law school, everyone around her doubts her abilities. Elle’s parents tell her that law school is only for “boring, ugly and serious people”. Her university’s career counsellor advises her against applying, partly because Elle’s undergraduate major is not a traditional pre-law course. Ironically, this is one of the reasons that Harvard accepts her application as they never had someone in law school who was a Fashion Merchandising major.
In the United States, the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is an integral part of the application process. Possible test scores range from 120 to 180, the latter being the highest possible score. In the film, Elle is told that she needs to achieve a minimum score of 175 to get into Harvard. However, in one of her practice tests she scores below average. With determination and resilience, Elle does not give up. She spends long nights in the library studying. In addition to that, it seems that Elle hired a tutor, her friends quiz her, and she also completes more timed practice tests. Overall, these scenes are very accurate as it does take a lot of time and effort to prepare for the test. While it is no wonder that Elle improves for her final LSAT, a near perfect score of 179 is unbelievable. That does not make the film any less entertaining. The audience cannot help but root for Elle, and therefore, is willing to ignore any disbelief. The scene, when another student asks Elle how she got into Harvard Law School, is extremely hilarious as Elle responds with: “What, like it’s hard?”
Courtroom Scene
During her first year at law school, Elle secures one of the highly sought-after spots for an internship at the law firm of one of her professors. During the internship, Elle and the other interns assist the lawyers with a murder trial, for example by talking to witnesses or visiting the defendant in prison. In general, their tasks are more appropriate for final year students. It almost seems like the screenwriters were confused and thought that Elle was already in her final year and not in her first year. This would explain Legally Blonde’s courtroom scene.
After some drama, Elle is asked to step in as the defendant’s legal representative as the defendant trusts Elle more than her former lawyer. Under Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3.03, a law student can indeed appear on behalf of a defendant in criminal proceedings. However, this rule only applies to third or final year law students. Despite a rocky start, Elle manages to break a witness during cross-examination, with the rules of hair care, which results in the confession of that witness. This is a Hollywood trope, and outbursts like that rarely ever happen in real courts, but that is what makes this scene so entertaining.
Inspiring and Impactful
In the beginning of the film, Elle is heavily underestimated by her family, her peers, and her professors. She is blonde, likes to dress in pink, and cares about fashion which in the early 2000s made her an unlikely candidate for law school. While the legal profession has become more diverse since the film’s debut, there are still many stereotypes about how a lawyer has to look and behave – no bright colours, no tattoos, no creativity, or individualism altogether. Legally Blonde challenges these stereotypes of who can become a lawyer. Elle shows that hard work and resilience pay off. More importantly, though, Elle is unapologetically true to herself throughout the entire film. Lastly, her graduation speech as valedictorian is so meaningful, a former president has used it as inspiration for a speech.
“It is with passion, courage of conviction and strong sense of self that we take our next steps into the world, remembering that first impressions are not always correct. You must always have faith in people, and most importantly, you must always have faith in yourself.” – Elle Woods
Final Thoughts
Legally Blonde may not get all the legal details right. Nevertheless, combining legal drama with romantic comedy, the cult classic is an extremely enjoyable film that will lift your mood, and maybe even inspire you to become a lawyer.
Comments