Character mistake: The first law class scene involves Reese Witherspoon getting kicked out of the room for being unprepared to answer questions regarding Gordon v. Steele, a very basic Civil Procedure case. The scene closes with the professor asking Selma Blair about the result in Gordon v. Steele. She responds that the court held that there was not diversity jurisdiction. The professor replies that Selma is correct. But, this is entirely the wrong answer. The court in that case held that there was diversity jurisdiction. Merely getting a case wrong would seem trivial, but again this is literally the first case any law student studies in Civil Procedure, a first year class. How could a screenwriter get this basic case completely wrong?
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Elle is at the beauty salon for the first time, she had parked right in front of the salon behind a brown car, but when she goes inside you can't see her car outside, just the brown car.
Plot hole: In the courtroom scenes, the victim's daughter, Chutney, is examined by the prosecution. This would mean that she has been sworn in. Yet, when she is examined by the defense, she is sworn in again. Wouldn't she still be considered "under oath"?
Continuity mistake: During the scene where Elle finds out Vivian is Warner's fiancee, a boy with a blue backpack strap walks directly behind Warner and Vivian a couple of times.
Revealing mistake: When Elle and Emmett are talking on the benches, a girl in a blue-gray shirt and red tie leaves the building twice.
Suggested correction: It's entirely possible that this girl just re-entered the building through a different entrance and left again.
Factual error: We know that Elle and Warner are both in Callahan's class together, but that Warner is not in Stromwell's class with Elle. However, Harvard, like most law schools, divides its first year class into sections that take every class together. Warner should either be in all of the same classes as Elle or none of them.
Other mistake: Legally Blonde was shot at a Delta Zeta Sorority house (a Z is very easy to change into an N). Proof of this can be seen in the scene at the beginning of the movie when there is a shot of the entranceway floor. On the emblem of the floor there is a Greek delta and what at first glance appears to be a N. However, if you look at the delta at the proper angle the N is a Z.
Continuity mistake: After Callahan hits on Elle, she pushes his hand off her knee and uncrosses her legs. In the very next shot her legs are crossed again.
Continuity mistake: When Elle is visiting Brooke in jail and takes her all of the goodies in the basket. Elle holds up the "Bible", (cosmopolitan magazine) and Elle's hair is behind her ear, yet in all of the other shots of Elle on the phone, her hair is down and the phone is on her hair.
Continuity mistake: When Brooke finds out that Elle is her lawyer, Elle's hair changes from the back throughout the scenes. First there are some hairs on her shoulder then a little less and then there are three completely split sections.
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Elle is going to get Brooke's alibi, in the shots of Elle her fingers change places when she is holding onto the phone.
Continuity mistake: When Elle is visiting Brooke in jail, the magazine in the basket in front of Elle is in the back of the basket. In the next shot of Elle it's in the front of the basket, but in the next shot it's in the back of the basket again.
Continuity mistake: When Elle is talking to Brooke at the jail, when they are speaking Elle's hair is under the phone and then it is over the phone. Then the hair goes back under it.
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Callahan is trying to get Elle to fess up the alibi, you can see laptops in front of Enid and Warner in the wide shot. When the characters get their close-ups the laptops disappear. This happens several times within the scene.
Factual error: In the final graduation scene, the faculty members on the stage are all wearing mortarboard caps. In fact, they should be wearing the traditional "doctors" graduation caps which resemble Scottish tam-o-shanters.
Suggested correction: Faculty should be wearing the cap and gown of the institution they graduated from, which may or may not be Harvard. I do not teach at the university I obtained my doctorate from, but at graduation I wear the robe and hat from where I earned my PhD, not the one of where I teach as I earned no degree there. That is how it works in the USA. The graduates will all have the same robes and hats, but not the faculty. Faculty hats will depend on where they graduated from. Mine is a standard mortarboard and my husband's is a tam as we went to different schools.
Factual error: By the time all the students are looking on the selected first year interns, they're looking there as though it was a big list that they have to flock around in a mess. They are supposed to be law students. I believe one glance on a four-numbered list is enough to memorize all of the names listed there.
Factual error: Delta Nu is not actually in any college in California. The actual Delta Nu sorority exists at Dickinson College, founded in 1971 following a split from the Chi Omega women's fraternity.
Continuity mistake: In the scene when Elle and her two friends are jumping up and down because they are excited about the road trip, one of the girl's sleeves falls down, in the next scene it's up again.
Continuity mistake: When Elle Woods gets to Harvard, stood outside, her nails are manicured. She mentions that Bruiser looks parched, and as she pours Evian water into the bowl, her nails not manicured, but natural and filed. They then go back to being manicured before entering the building.
