Legally Blonde changed the way women in movies are often portrayed and for that reason alone, we can’t help but absolutely love the film. As huge Reese Witherspoon fans, we’re so excited for the premiere of Legally Blonde 3. In the meantime, we’ll be bingeing these five books about strong female lawyers who take the world by storm.

My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor

The first Hispanic and third woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court tells her story of overcoming adversity. Sonia Sotomayor grew up in a Bronx housing project with an alcoholic father who died when she was nine, and a devoted but overburdened mother. She found stability by living with her grandmother but was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. Determined to overcome any obstacles, she was valedictorian of her high school and attended Princeton and Yale Law School, where she received high honors. This is an inspiring story of a determined young woman who worked hard to become a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.


Stories from Trailblazing Women Lawyers: Lives in the Law by Jill Norgren

Jill Norgren’s book features 100 American women lawyers who helped change the profession of law. These women not only fought for access to law school but also helped establish rules that are followed by all. Norgren uses the interviews of these women to describe the changes that have happened in the law world starting from the 1960s. She weaves together the social and legal history of each woman’s experiences.


Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

Small Great Things is about a lawyer and a nurse who have to stick together if they want to win their case. Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse with 20 years of experience. On one of her shifts, she checks on a newborn but finds out she has been reassigned to another baby. The parents of this newborn are white supremacists and do not want Ruth, who is African American, to take care of their child. But the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress and no one is around to help except Ruth. Ruth hesitates at first to give the baby CPR and is now charged with a serious crime because of this incident. Kennedy McQuarrie takes Ruth’s case but tells Ruth they cannot use the race card as a strategy to win; they will have to go a different route. This worries Ruth, but Ruth and Kennedy are aware that they need to trust each other to prove that they are the ones who are on the right side of the law.


Exposed by Lisa Scottoline 

Mary DiNunzio wants to help out her good friend Simon Pensiera because she feels he was wrongly fired from his job. But Mary’s law partner, Bennie Rosato, represents the company that Simon was fired from. Because Mary and Bennie are at odds over the court case, the law firm is split into two and employees are having to choose sides. When two strong female lawyers go head-to-head, tensions will rise.


My Husband’s Wife by Jane Corry

When young lawyer Lily marries Ed, she is hopeful for a fresh start where she will leave her past secrets behind. But when she takes on her first case and meets convicted murderer Joe, she finds that she will risk almost anything for him. While Lily is keeping secrets, so is her nine-year-old neighbor, Carla, who knows that secrets are powerful. And sixteen years later, when events bring Carla and Lily together again, they will find out just how powerful those secrets are.