Whether lawyer or non-lawyer, Millennial or Gen Z, Capricorn or Gemini vegetarian, I am willing to bet that Legally Blonde is the first “law” movie that comes to mind for many women and girls when so prompted.
In more ways than one, the story of Elle Woods’ journey as a student at Harvard Law encapsulates the inherent challenges of becoming a high-achieving career woman while simultaneously rebranding the idea of what one looks like. While enjoyable for all audiences, this 2001 film is especially marketable to aspiring attorneys and riddled with several important takeaways for the same. Aside from the “bend and snap” Legally Blonde teaches incoming law students the following notable dos and don’ts:
1. Do not chase a romantic partner to law school.
First and foremost, do not chase a man (or anyone, for that matter) to law school. Should you heed one piece of my advice, I beg it be this one. While I cannot attest from personal experience, I am nonetheless certain there are much easier, cheaper, and less life-altering means to securing a future spouse (if that’s your goal) than enlisting in the white-collar draft to pursue someone who chose to pursue a law degree over you. Though true that this unfollowed principle ultimately ended up working out for the protagonist in this movie, I regrettably remind us that most of us are and will not be as lucky. Should you find yourself in this conundrum, I kindly suggest talking to a trusted loved one before you begin packing your things and deep-diving Reddit for law school admissions tips.
2. Be aware of the demands of law school before making your decision.
For those who disregard the foregoing and nonetheless choose to proceed, do recognize the labor required to apply for and receive acceptance into law school is a precursor to the demands and occasional social sacrifices that being a law student also requires.
To nobody’s shock, preparing for and successfully taking the LSAT is the first hurdle on the track to becoming a law student. However, to my surprise at least, learning how to devote myself to the task at hand (i.e., buckling down for weeks of studying for the LSAT) was nearly as difficult as learning how to master the actual testing material itself.
Knowing I had to study and telling my friends, “I can’t, I have test prep” was one challenge but watching them enjoy the weekend via Instagram Stories while I sat alone among my barely dented testing materials was the bigger Olympic trial.
And, to my great dismay, those LSAT Blues were only the start of the internal tug-of-war between my professional and social aspirations I would experience while working toward my law degree. That said, do what I did not and take note of these warnings depicted during Elle’s studying scenes rather than focusing solely on her sorority-wide celebration that ensued after she aced the LSAT.
3. Do not mistake law school for undergraduate 2.0.
Whether starting law school upon college graduation or after taking some time in between degrees, everyone receives the same shock to the system upon realizing how different the law school experience is in comparison to undergrad.
Unlike college, where regular attendance may be the only requirement for doing well in a course, law school often comes with higher academic and personal stakes that can take some adjusting to clear. If this doesn’t happen for you at orientation or while drudging through the first case briefing (which, by the way, legally MUST be an 1800s landmark case that is neither comprehensible nor good law anymore), this realization inevitably arises for bodyslams everyone else on their first week of 1L.
Speaking directly now to those unfortunate few who’ll get awarded their first-ever cold call during the first week of classes, I strongly urge you all to learn this lesson well in advance of your first day; specifically, take pointers from Elle’s first day in Professor Stromwell’s class. Although blundering through a cold call may not be everyone’s idea of the worst experience in the world, I cannot imagine that being openly reprimanded in a room full of strangers for being underprepared would be anyone’s favorite. As an aside: Not everyone will remember your first cold call, but you most definitely will (which may arguably be worse). That said, recognizing and treating law school for the professional endeavor it is at the outset can help make that transition a lot less traumatizing.
4. Rely on people both in and out of law school.
Although it may feel isolating on occasion, law school is not an individual endeavor. Believe it or not, it might be the only school setting where making friends can happen both quickly and naturally—something about the shared trauma of contracts class just brings everyone together.
Classmates on the same three-year journey as you are perhaps the only people who come close enough to living your exact law school experience. For that reason, growing your support system with classmates and professors who both understand and experience with you the highest highs and throes of the worst can make all the difference during your time as a law student.
However, it is equally as valuable to also have people you can rely on who neither know nor care enough about torts to pore over it with you at every dinner. Even if your parents, college friends, or the random lady you befriended at the beauty salon are wholly unfamiliar with the kind of academic (and emotional) trenches you’re wading through, having guidance and support from people who know and love the “non-law school” parts of you is irreplaceable.
5. Do not change who you are for the sake of your pursuit.
Without question, the biggest takeaway from Legally Blonde is that success as a law student is not contingent upon looking, acting, or being a certain way. Contrary to the movie’s most popular reiteration, law school IS “like it’s hard” (things your favorite influencer will never tell you), but it would be all the more difficult if it required everyone to become versions of themselves they are not.
Because comparison is human nature—and even more inevitable in an environment full of high-achieving people—it is crucial to realize there is no right or one way to do well in law school. The students who prefer to group study at the most visible table in the library are just as likely to perform the same as those who instead choose to study independently at home. The peer who volunteers to speak in class the most is not guaranteed to know the subject material better than another peer who prefers to speak only when called upon.
Where one classmate’s strengths may be memorizing by heart all the elements of the different types of homicide, another’s might be knowing that the first cardinal rule of perm maintenance is that you’re forbidden to wet your hair for at least 24 hours afterwards.
Whatever the distinction, Legally Blonde imparts the important lesson that success in the pursuit of becoming a lawyer is no more likely for the third-generation law student than it is for the atypical fashion major who worked to earn a seat in the same class to everyone’s disbelief.
Natalie N. Baine, Esquire, is an associate with Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP in Tampa, Florida, where she is a member of the Litigation & Disputes Service Line. She is an associate member of the J. Clifford Cheatwood American Inn of Court.