[imagesource: Kathleen Martinez]

Don’t take that power pose in pink for granted or you could get your butt whipped in court.

With platinum blonde hair and bright pink suits paired with matching stilettos, Kathleen Martinez is not quite what she seems.

Dubbed the “real-life Elle Woods” from the classic movie franchise Legally Blonde, the immigration attorney has made a career out of the people who always pigeonholed her based on her bombshell appearance.

We’re all familiar with the plot line for the cult classic, where Reese Witherspoon plays a sorority girl who attempts to win back her boyfriend by proving there is more to her than just looks.

Just like Elle, Kathleen completely shatters stereotypes and stigmas that often come with such glamour – as if women who care about style can’t think or something.

 

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Newsweek reported that Kathleen, a mom-of-two from Dallas, Texas, would often be discriminated against in the workplace because of her feminine image:

“As a kid, I watched the film Legally Blonde and loved it but I never considered myself to be the real-life, Elle Woods.”

“But now that people say it, I understand as I have faced obstacles and discrimination within the industry,” said the owner of Martinez Immigration Law.

She admitted that at one stage she went through a “conservative stage and stopped wearing makeup, dressed in black, and wore my glasses in a bid to be taken seriously” by her male colleagues who often called her colourful suits “inappropriate”:

“At one point, I convinced myself I shouldn’t be a lawyer because of the discrimination I faced so I took some time off.”

Somewhere along the line, she found the middle finger she needed to launch her own law firm, which she totally did in 2020.

She’s even influencing people all over the world to challenge social norms, with over 879 000 followers on TikTok:

@attorneymartinez #ellewoods #legallyblonde #lawyer #lawyertiktok #fyp ♬ violence is not the answer x drita – Shadowbanned 💋

@attorneymartinez Replying to @julie__prz #ellewoods #legallyblonde #fyp ♬ original sound – Nicholas Flannery

It’s not all about her though, as she also uses the platform to offer legal advice:

@attorneymartinez #undocumented #immigration #greencard #fyp ♬ stream escapism – #1 the thrill is gone stan

Indeed it is about time that mindsets change in the industry as more women who deserve to express themselves however they see fit enter the legal field.

[source:newsweek]