‘I was like, “Oh my god, I can be taken seriously”‘: mum inspired to become lawyers by Legally Blonde | Video

‘My inner Elle Woods became the director of everything’

Angela McCarthy, senior associate at Lawrence StephensLondon

Elle made being a lawyer look glamorous and fun. But what really drew me in was that he made it seem like if you stay true to what you believe in and trust your instincts, you can do anything. He stood up for what he believed in and came out on top of his class. It was very empowering. She may have gone to law school for the wrong reasons, which was looking for a husband, but what she came out with was a better understanding of herself – she made her own career.

The legal profession is a competitive environment. You have to be different from other people and you have to control yourself. Things are changing but there are still many men, especially at the top. When I graduated from university with my law degree under my belt, my inner Elle Woods became the driving force behind everything. I’ve been lucky because I’m on my own when I start work, and the company I work for knows that I do a good job, so I don’t have to pretend to be anyone else.

I don’t think Elle is just about lawyers. She reminds everyone to be true to yourself and whatever you want to achieve. He makes everything seem possible.

‘My husband encouraged me to have my entire board in pink’

Kathleen Martinez, Managing Immigration AttorneyDallas-Fort Worth

Ever since I was a child, I always wore pink and was very pretty. I stood in every room I was in. When I watched Legally Blonde, I was like, “Oh my god, I can be considered for it.” My grandfather was a lawyer and I wanted to be a judge when I grew up, but when I saw the movie, I knew I had to do law.

Elle helped people, and she helps people by interacting with her customers, especially by being friendly.

It’s a work full of gossip, lawyer Facebook groups are very bad – they are very dangerous. I realized that I will not be accepted anywhere. Like many women in the field, I had to make my own table instead of joining another, so I started my own company. My husband encouraged me to have a pink sign. It worked because people could see it and relate to me, and they remembered it because of it. Now, everyone in my company wears that color. I love that people call me the real Elle Woods – it’s a badge I wear with pride, and it’s a great brand. It is such a compliment.

‘Law school has a way of making people forget who they are’

Haley Moss, licensed attorney and neurodiversity expertMiami-Fort Lauderdale

I think a lot about the events they are in the circle at orientation. I just felt like him. I had an unconventional background: I was a great thinker, writer and photographer. Everyone around me felt very important. I was able to relate to Elle more than I thought possible.

I also liked that he was not shy. Law school has a way of making people forget who they are. They forget their desires. Elle was there, not only embracing her love of everything pink and feminine, but she was able to use it to her advantage. He knew what made him special and he ran with it. At school I did things that made me who I was, and my friends respected me for that.

As an autistic person, I find Elle very comfortable. Especially how he wanted to have friends, and how he was, too much for his interests. My last time at Elle Woods was to finish my law school. Like him, I was chosen to be the class speaker. I wore a pink dress under my grad gowns. I ended by saying: “We did it!” I thought I was Elle Woods.

‘You can always be mocked and be outside of the old traditions’

Hadiyah Cummings, human rights advocate and founder and CEO of LawyHer, Washington DC-Baltimore

Elle Woods didn’t inspire me to become a lawyer, but she inspired me to become the lawyer I wanted to be. I saw the movie for the first time when I was in college. What touched me the most was how Elle refused to fool herself into not being impressed. He encouraged me not to underestimate myself when I became a lawyer.

I founded a non-profit organization, LawyHer, dedicated to redefining what it means to be a woman in the legal profession. It’s not enough to just have a seat at the table – what we really care about is making sure you have the energy to show yourself. Elle explained what it meant.

Elle is a white woman and, as a black woman from the south, she doesn’t seem like a relatable person to me. But watching the movie, I could see that she is more than a white woman who likes to wear pink clothes. It’s a lot about what people think of you, and how you can always minimize it because you exist outside of the traditional, old traditions of professionalism. In law school, I walked around with my pink bag and my pen, and that’s when I started building a community.

‘I used to watch Legally Blonde every night before exams’

Jacqueline LaBaynelaw school graduate, attending this year, and attending civil rights, Orange, California

I remember being inspired by Elle because she was fearless. They’re just like “Oh, I’m going to Harvard and it’s going to be easy, and there’s no doubt in my mind that I can do this.” In the movie he saw how the rules can change, and that’s how it was for me. I love everything about him. There was a time when a professor went to her in a hairdressing salon and said: “If you let one stupid prick ruin your whole life, you’re not the woman I thought you were.” That stuck with me, because I’ve been beaten and going to law school was driven by wanting to speak up for other people, which is what Elle does.

I watched Legally Blonde every night every exam I took, every night before midterms, every night before finals, and I’ll watch it the night before bar. Everyone called me Elle Woods at my law school. I always wear pink, I have pink suits. I’ve had teachers tell me it’s useless and I choose to continue testing myself, or go with what’s available and wear boring blacks and blues. Like Elle, I don’t let anyone tell me what I can and can’t wear. If you judge me by my looks, I might look cute!