My experience is different than most. If I weren't plugged into the legal community before law school, I never would have enrolled. I am not a great student. Never have been. Average undergrad GPA and slightly above average LSAT score.
I would say that my pre-law school experience was the foundation for my job post-grad. But that foundation took a TON of building, maintenance and risk taking during law school.
Before I started law school I worked to build a reputation for being hardworking, honest, intelligent and charming. I worked long hours. I admitted to and quickly learned my mistakes. I always made my bosses look like rock stars. I learned the legal lingo. I read the local legal gossip blogs so I knew who was who. I knew the field I wanted to practice in before I started law school.
In law school, I picked every class after my first year for either the professor (local judge or practicing attorneys) or a subject that I knew would be relevant to my daily work. I did my best to impress professors that mattered in the "real" legal field and built relationships with them. In my last year, I took enough in student loans to cut back on hours at work so I could do a judicial internship with a judge that I impressed in my civil procedure class. I made a name for myself with that judge and was offered a second internship with a different, well known and well respected judge. Again, I took loans to supplement my income and keep me afloat while I made a name for myself with the second judge and everyone he introduced me to.
In my last year of law school I decided I wanted to work with a trial lawyer. Even though I had a steady job and a post-grad offer was inevitable, I wanted to take the leap. I had my eye set on an attorney my firm had co-counseled with several times before and I had built a good rapport with. His secretary already knew me and loved me. Same with his paralegal. When I sent my cover letter and resume, I had all judges and attorneys I'd worked with as references. The lawyer knew all my references by name. His staff adored me. When he spoke to them he heard the same thing over and over again: that I was hardworking, honest, intelligent and charming. It was a risk but it paid off -- I got the position as a law clerk and six months later I got the full-time offer after I take the Bar.
It took eight years to get to that point. Four years of work before law school and four years in law school. It was not easy, especially losing friends and my 5+ year relationship. The number of people I can celebrate my success with has shrunk drastically in the past few years. I don't say this to discourage you, but I want to make sure you see the whole picture.