Only about one-third of first-year law students in the U.S. went directly to law school from undergrad. At Yale, only about 15 percent of the law class of 2025 matriculated immediately after graduation. The majority of law applicants choose to take a gap year, or several, prior to applying. And, every year, we receive a lot of questions about the value of paralegal experience for applicants. Should you pursue it in your gap year? In a word: maybe. Let’s review the pros and cons to see if it might be the right fit for you.
The Pros:
If you are interested in a career at a law firm, work as a paralegal will provide an up-close view of your life as an associate. You will see what the hours, work, and intra-firm relationships will look like.
You’ll build a personal network within the firm, which may benefit you as you go through the recruitment process.
While your work as an early-career paralegal will be administrative in nature, you will develop skills that will benefit you in law school and beyond including legal research and writing.
You’ll earn a reasonable salary, and some firms pay for paralegals to attend LSAT test preparation courses. You may even be able to continue working throughout law school if you attend a local university and have time.
The Cons:
As mentioned above, your early-career paralegal work will be more administrative than substantive in content.
Paralegal experience is fairly common among law applicants, so you will want to find additional ways to stand out. Inquire about taking on a challenging long-term research project at your firm or a leadership role in a firm-wide charitable initiative.
If you need to earn money to pay for law school, jobs in industries that you’re interested in (e.g. tech, finance) may provide meaningful and challenging experiences, while also paying you a higher salary.