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Legally Blonde stars Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods, a typical pampered "valley girl" (however resides in Bel-Air) and president of her sorority at the fictional CULA, the California University of Los Angeles (an intentionally spoofed anagrammed version of the University of California, Los Angeles). Nearing graduation, Elle expects her Harvard Law School-bound boyfriend, Warner Huntington III (Matthew Davis), to propose, but he instead breaks up with her, saying that her frivolous lifestyle would hinder his political future. Crushed, Elle decides she must revamp her image by attending Harvard Law and thereby winning back Warner. With an exceptional LSAT score and an unusual application video of her in a bikini, she wins the approval of the admissions board.
Elle is initially met with hostility and skepticism of her abilities at Harvard, and she finds Warner is already engaged to fellow law student Vivian Kensington (Selma Blair). Vivian reluctantly invites Elle to a formal gathering, but tells her it is a costume party to humiliate her. Though she shows up dressed as a Playboy bunny, Elle is unfazed. She confronts Warner and finds that his perception of her is unaffected by her accomplishments. Spurred by his dismissive remarks, Elle immerses herself in her studies and becomes a top student in her class.
Along with Warner and Vivian, Elle is hired as an intern at the firm of one of her professors, Callahan (Victor Garber). They are assigned the case of defending a young woman, Brooke Windham (née Taylor) (Ali Larter), accused of the murder of her older, wealthy husband. Windham is incidentally a former member of Elle's sorority and a famous fitness instructor, facts that convince Elle of her innocence. Her stepdaughter and the household's "cabana boy" Enrique Salvatore (Greg Serano) attest to finding Windham standing over her husband's dead body.
After Windham refuses Callahan's request for an alibi, Elle visits her in jail where she confides that she was having liposuction at the time of her husband's death. Worried that this would destroy her reputation as a fitness instructor, she asks that Elle keep the alibi secret. Elle complies despite pressure from Callahan.
To further discredit Windham, Salvatore testifies that he and Windham had been having an affair. Elle reasons that Salvatore is actually gay, given that he is able to correctly identify her shoes as "last season Prada". (He says "Don't a stomp your little... last season Prada shoes at me, honey.") Although Callahan dismisses her claim as speculation, his trial assistant, Emmett Richmond (Luke Wilson), takes the initiative and tricks Salvatore into admitting this on the stand.
Callahan has a private discussion with Elle after the session. To her disgust, he reveals he finds her attractive and begins to caress her thigh. Elle angrily storms out and, convinced that she will never be taken seriously, decides to quit. However, after encouragement from one of her female professors and with Emmett's support, she decides to stay. Emmett informs Windham of Callahan's transgression, whereupon she decides to fire Callahan and replace him with Elle.
Since Elle is not a lawyer yet, she is supervised by Emmett. During her cross-examination, the victim's daughter, Chutney Windham (Linda Cardellini), claims to have been taking a shower at the time of the murder, but Elle argues that having had her hair permed that day, a shower would have deactivated the ammonium thioglycolate and ruined her curls. Badgered by Elle's aggressive questioning, the daughter finally breaks down in tears and confesses to accidentally shooting her father, believing he was her stepmother, whom she resented for being the same age as she.
The end of the film shows Elle graduating two years later at the top of her class with an offer to work at a prestigious Boston law firm. It indicates that Emmett has since quit Callahan's firm to start his own practice, and that he will propose to Elle that night. On the other hand, Warner gets no job offers or internships, loses his girlfriend and graduates near the bottom.
Elle is initially met with hostility and skepticism of her abilities at Harvard, and she finds Warner is already engaged to fellow law student Vivian Kensington (Selma Blair). Vivian reluctantly invites Elle to a formal gathering, but tells her it is a costume party to humiliate her. Though she shows up dressed as a Playboy bunny, Elle is unfazed. She confronts Warner and finds that his perception of her is unaffected by her accomplishments. Spurred by his dismissive remarks, Elle immerses herself in her studies and becomes a top student in her class.
Along with Warner and Vivian, Elle is hired as an intern at the firm of one of her professors, Callahan (Victor Garber). They are assigned the case of defending a young woman, Brooke Windham (née Taylor) (Ali Larter), accused of the murder of her older, wealthy husband. Windham is incidentally a former member of Elle's sorority and a famous fitness instructor, facts that convince Elle of her innocence. Her stepdaughter and the household's "cabana boy" Enrique Salvatore (Greg Serano) attest to finding Windham standing over her husband's dead body.
After Windham refuses Callahan's request for an alibi, Elle visits her in jail where she confides that she was having liposuction at the time of her husband's death. Worried that this would destroy her reputation as a fitness instructor, she asks that Elle keep the alibi secret. Elle complies despite pressure from Callahan.
To further discredit Windham, Salvatore testifies that he and Windham had been having an affair. Elle reasons that Salvatore is actually gay, given that he is able to correctly identify her shoes as "last season Prada". (He says "Don't a stomp your little... last season Prada shoes at me, honey.") Although Callahan dismisses her claim as speculation, his trial assistant, Emmett Richmond (Luke Wilson), takes the initiative and tricks Salvatore into admitting this on the stand.
Callahan has a private discussion with Elle after the session. To her disgust, he reveals he finds her attractive and begins to caress her thigh. Elle angrily storms out and, convinced that she will never be taken seriously, decides to quit. However, after encouragement from one of her female professors and with Emmett's support, she decides to stay. Emmett informs Windham of Callahan's transgression, whereupon she decides to fire Callahan and replace him with Elle.
Since Elle is not a lawyer yet, she is supervised by Emmett. During her cross-examination, the victim's daughter, Chutney Windham (Linda Cardellini), claims to have been taking a shower at the time of the murder, but Elle argues that having had her hair permed that day, a shower would have deactivated the ammonium thioglycolate and ruined her curls. Badgered by Elle's aggressive questioning, the daughter finally breaks down in tears and confesses to accidentally shooting her father, believing he was her stepmother, whom she resented for being the same age as she.
The end of the film shows Elle graduating two years later at the top of her class with an offer to work at a prestigious Boston law firm. It indicates that Emmett has since quit Callahan's firm to start his own practice, and that he will propose to Elle that night. On the other hand, Warner gets no job offers or internships, loses his girlfriend and graduates near the bottom.
