<p>Is it good to work prior to entering into law school? Would admission committees take this into consideration?</p>
<p>Yes. Consider, for example, this statement from Northwestern Law School concerning its entering class of 2004: "About 92 percent of this years entering JD students have had one or more years of full-time work experience, and 67 percent have had at least two years."</p>
<p>Personally, I think it's a good idea to take time off between college and law school. However, how much work experience helps varies from law school to law school. Of the top 14, Northwestern weighs work experience most heavily.</p>
<p>In contrast, about one-third of Yale Law entering 1L's come directly from college; one -third have been out of college 1-2 years (many of them are fellowship winners, e.g., Rhodes, Marshall, Fulbright Scholars); one -third have been out of school more than two years.</p>
<p>Agree with Jonri. NW loves having students with work experience - rumour has it that they are trying to turn into more of a business/law school rather than straight-up legal education.</p>
<p>My big vote for working before law school is not for admissions purporses, however. Simply put, most people are burnt out at the end of college and need a break. It's the last time you have to really take that break (because it's law school, bar studying, maybe a month or so off, then working until you retire), and it can be a great way to get out of academia and get some perspective. Finally, the people who know why they are at law school tend to outperform their peers who go there because their history majour doesn't get them a job. Most of the really outstanding students in my 1L class are the ones who took some real time off - the 27-year-olds who know why they want a legal education. The others are those who really have a desire to be a lawyer. The people who came here because law school sounded like a good idea, for the most part, are not at the top of the class.</p>
<p>Just my take. IMO, there are very few compelling reasons to not take time off before law school, and most of those would be financial reasons (not wanting to defer debt from undergrad, having kids - hey, I'm in the South - and needing to provide for them, or knowing that you don't want to get used to earning a salary).</p>