Fashion merchandising student and sorority girl Elle Woods is taken to an expensive restaurant by her boyfriend, Warner Huntington III. She expects Warner to propose, but he breaks up with her instead. He intends to go to Harvard Law School and become a successful politician and believes that Elle is not “serious” enough for that kind of life. Elle believes she can win Warner back if she shows herself capable of achieving the same things. After months of studying, Elle scores a 179 on the Law School Admission Test[4] and, combined with her 4.0 GPA, is accepted to Harvard Law School. Upon arriving at Harvard, Elle’s SoCal personality is a complete contrast to her East Coast classmates, who frequently distrust her. Elle soon encounters Warner, but discovers he is engaged to his old girlfriend, Vivian Kensington, who considers Elle a fool. Later, Elle tells Warner that she intends to apply for one of her professor’s internships, but Warner tells her that she is wasting her time because she is not intelligent enough. Realizing that Warner will never take her back or take her seriously, Elle finds motivation to prove herself by working hard and demonstrating her understanding of the subject. The following semester, Professor Callahan, the school’s most respected teacher, decides to take on some first-year interns to help with a high-profile case. Among those chosen are Elle, Warner, and Vivian. Callahan is defending a prominent fitness instructor named Brooke Windham, one of Elle’s role models. Accused of murdering her husband, Brooke is unwilling to produce an alibi (she later reveals to Elle that she was having liposuction, a fact that would ruin her reputation, which Elle promises not to disclose). Vivian gains a new respect for Elle and reveals that Warner could not get into Harvard without his father’s help. Emmett Richmond, Callahan’s junior partner, has also taken notice of Elle’s potential. One night, Callahan tries seducing Elle, who now believes that is why she got the internship. Devastated, she quits and nearly returns home to California, telling Emmett what happened. When Emmett explains how Callahan’s behavior caused Elle to leave her internship, Brooke fires Callahan and replaces him with Elle (under the guidance of Emmett, as she is only a law student, citing a Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling that law students may represent clients as long as they do so under the supervision of a licensed attorney). Elle begins to cross-examine Brooke’s stepdaughter, Chutney, and catches Chutney in a lie when she discovers significant inconsistencies in her story: Chutney testified that she was home during her father’s murder but did not hear the gunshot because she was in the shower after getting her hair permed that morning. Elle says that washing permed hair within the first 24 hours would deactivate the ammonium thioglycolate and points out that Chutney’s curls are still intact. With her story falling apart, Chutney confesses that she accidentally killed her father but really intended to kill Brooke because she hated the fact that her father married someone who was the same age as she is. After the trial, Chutney is sent to jail, and Warner approaches Elle and asks her to take him back since she has proven herself. Elle rejects him, realizing that he is shallow and a “complete bonehead”. However, she and Vivian become good friends, especially after she dumps Warner. Elle gives the graduation speech two years later, while Warner graduates with no honors, no job offers and no girlfriend. Emmett has started his own law firm and has been dating Elle for two years, with plans to propose to her later that night.