Legally Blonde was a pretty influential movie. Like, not only did it completely jumpstart Reese Witherspoon's career, but it inspired generations of young women and girls to pursue careers in law and other male-dominated industries.
Including Kathleen Martinez, who is the real-life Elle Woods we've been waiting for all these decades later.
The lawyer is also a TikToker (@attorneymartinez) with nearly half a million followers.
Martinez shared that she had difficulty early on in her career because of her gender. In one TikTok, she wrote, "My boss fired me from my first lawyer job for not 'fitting in' with the conservative culture and refusing to make him coffee."
"So I started my own firm, where we wear whatever we want and ran my old boss out of business," the captions in her TikTok continued.
I kind of want to be Martinez when I grow up, and I'm already grown.
In her TikToks, she shows the kinds of outfits she wears to court, including pink suits (which look amazing, by the way). Despite being laughed at by the opposing counsel in the courtroom, she still keeps her cool and lawyers on.
In another TikTok, Martinez shows off the pink, Legally Blonde themed party she threw for her firm in Dallas. It literally looks like something out of a little girl's dream.
Martinez's law firm specializes in immigration law, and she works with immigrants in order to help them through the path to U.S. citizenship. Many of the paralegals with whom she works are immigrants themselves, or are the children of immigrants.
While speaking to BuzzFeed, Martinez said, "I didn’t expect to make such a big impact on other women. We have had thousands of female lawyers and legal professionals apply to work at our firm."
She had a special message to any woman practicing law, saying, "If your employer cannot understand that women can be both smart and feminine, they are not worth your time or hard work."
And when speaking on her immigrant clients, she had nothing but niceties to say:
"I have found immigrants in particular to be kind, humble, and extremely appreciative. They work hard to earn their right to citizenship, and I feel privileged to be a part of that."
From the fashion to the way she stands up for people's rights, Martinez has definitely taken that Elle Woods aesthetic and made it into something amazing.
