Legally Blonde Turns 25: Lawyers Share How Elle Woods Inspired Their Careers

As the film 'Legally Blonde' marks its 25th anniversary, several women lawyers recount how Reese Witherspoon's character Elle Woods inspired them to enter the legal profession and remain true to themselves. Angela McCarthy, a senior associate at Lawrence Stephens in London, says Elle made being a lawyer look glamorous and empowering, and that her inner Elle Woods became the driving force behind her career. Kathleen Martinez, a managing attorney specializing in immigration in Dallas-Fort Worth, was inspired to start her own firm after feeling unwelcome in traditional settings; her husband encouraged her to use a pink billboard for marketing. Haley Moss, a licensed attorney and neurodiversity expert in Miami-Fort Lauderdale, relates to Elle as an autistic person and wore a pink dress under her graduation robes when she was elected class speaker. Hadiyah Cummings, a civil rights attorney and founder of LawyHer in Washington DC-Baltimore, says Elle inspired her not to shrink herself; she founded her nonprofit to help women show up as their full selves. Jacqueline LaBayne, a law school graduate in Orange, California, watched the film every night before exams and plans to watch it before the bar; she wears pink suits despite professors calling it unprofessional. The article features photographs of the women and Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods.