I have found that working in a law firm in a role that is heavily exposed to legal services and client work — such as being a paralegal or legal assistant — can help someone determine if they like the day-to-day environment and duties of a law firm. Working in a law firm as a paralegal before law school definitely helped me realize that law firm life is a very specific experience and that I want to start my own law firm perfecting that experience for me.
I am currently a freelance paralegal. I used to be a ‘regular’ paralegal/legal assistant a few years ago as well, but then I realize how frickin’ crazy attorneys are and working under one firm for my sole source of income is literal hell… But anyway I’ve been working in the legal industry in a support capacity for my entire professional — albeit short — career.