Legally Blonde 'inspired the kind of lawyer I wanted to be'

It has been 25 years since Elle Woods stomped her 'last season Prada shoes' across UK screens in Legally Blonde.

The film, which was released 25 years ago today, saw Woods - played by Reese Witherspoon - enrol in Harvard Law School after her boyfriend dumps her for not being serious enough. The film went on to inspire generations of would-be lawyers and solicitors.

A quarter of a century later, women now outnumber men in the legal industry - and while "the Legally Blonde effect" may not be the sole reason for the boost, those in the profession have said it has not hurt the cause.

"It definitely inspired the kind of lawyer I wanted to be," trainee solicitor Olivia Holder said.

Olivia, who works for Manchester-based Express Solicitors, said she believes people's access to justice can improve when solicitors are free to be themselves.

"I love to wear pink, I've got a pink sparkly car and I didn't have to give up any of that to be taken seriously in the legal profession," she said.

And in the same way Elle uses her knowledge of perm aftercare to prove her client's innocence in the film, Olivia believes her interests help her advocate for her clients.

"Sometimes we're dealing with clients who have scarring and they say things like, 'Oh, it might sound silly, but I'm concerned about the way I look,' and I say 'No, it doesn't sound silly at all'," the 24-year-old from Macclesfield said.

"I can empathise with that."

According to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, in 2001, the year Legally Blonde was released, 43% of solicitors in England and Wales were women.

As of last year, women made up 63% of solicitors, the Law Society found.

However, the society's deputy vice president Dana Denis-Smith said many women still felt like they do not belong.

"My whole legal career tracks Legally Blonde because I started my legal education 25 years ago, about three months after it came out," the 51-year-old from Transylvania in Romania said.

"Previous to this film, a lot of the women in law portrayed in film were very hard women. They had to play hardball."

Dana said women have only been able practice law since about 1922 and when the first generation entered the profession, they faced ridicule and questions around what they would wear and how they would behave, as well as discrimination around the types of work they could do.

"It was about what was considered suitable for a woman," she said.

"Legally Blonde broke with that tradition of 'you can't be feminine and successful'.

"I think it was a very pivotal moment for women.

"Before you would hide away your children and not talk about your family life.

"There was a sense that you had to really separate your professional identity."

Solicitor Lois Ellard, said she appreciates the way the film challenges the stereotype that people who care about their appearance cannot do a difficult job.

"Elle is obviously perceived as this bimbo sort of girl. And then she goes to Harvard and I just think it's amazing," the 28-year-old from Pontefract in West Yorkshire said.

"I get my lashes done, I get my brows done, I get my hair done, I tan, I bleach my teeth, I have lip filler.

"All things some people think don't go hand-in-hand with being a solicitor. But here I am.

Lois, who works for Manchester-based Express Solicitors, said one of her favourite things was "when I'm on a night out and people try to guess what I do and nobody ever guesses solicitor".

"I'm like, 'yeah, I'm a solicitor, why wouldn't you think that?' I love that."

Lamya Al Saqqaf, a trainee solicitor at MSB solicitors in Liverpool, said she was inspired by the way that Elle uses the fact that she is constantly underestimated as a source of motivation.

"When you put your mind to something, you can see it through and I think the movie is a perfect example of that for many women," she said.

However, she said fans cannot ignore that if the character were from a black, Asian and minority ethnic background, she may not be able to access law school so easily.

In England and Wales, 75% of solicitors are white, while Asian/Asian British solicitors make up 13% of the industry and Black/Black British solicitors make up just 3%, according to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

"We don't all have the same accessibility as counterparts from white backgrounds," the 27-year-old who was born in Yemen said.

She said research by the SRA also found that white students were almost twice as likely to be sponsored by a law firm through training than Asian and black students.

"If they were to remake the film, seeing those issues integrated into one character would be a better representation," she said.

The gender split in the legal industry is also reflected at the University of Manchester, where female law students outnumber males 62%-38%.

Dihasya Wijewickreme Perera is in her third year studying law at the university.

The 20-year-old also cheerleads for the school and said she loves that Elle kept up her hobbies after she started at Harvard.

"She's really true to herself and her interests," she said.

"She does her bachelors in fashion merchandising and that's a huge passion she carries through law school and her legal career."

She said the relationship Elle has with her friends was also reflected in her female-heavy cohort at university.

"She's super positive, she has her sisterhood and her sorority, and they're all rooting for her."

"I think that's really lovely."

While things have improved for women in the legal industry since 2001, experts have said there remains more to be done.

Men still outnumber women in partner positions 57%-40%, according to the SRA.

Also, in 2024, six in 10 female solicitors who left the role were under 55, compared to just three in 10 male solicitors of the same age.

Dana Denis-Smith said she believes seeing successful, older lawyers reflected in films could help address the issues behind the statistics.

"We haven't yet seen a senior partner being depicted on film," she said.

"We've always had more junior lawyer being represented.

"So maybe we need that kind of more powerful, more influential voice as well to be visible as a player in the profession."

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