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I'm currently working at a non-legal job, and when I leave for law school, I won't be able to guarantee that I'll receive a great letter of recommendation, just due to the culture of the team I work with and the fact that leaving the company is looked at badly.

For legal employment, especially after the first year, how important are letters of recommendation from former employers, or do law firms typically look for letters from law professors?

Wondering whether it would be worth it to look into a legal internship or short-term job prior to starting law school.

This will almost certainly not be an issue for you. Although it would make sense for legal employers to care what you did before law school, they generally don't call pre-law employers, ask for pre-law letters of rec, etc.

If you need a letter of rec, which you probably won't for firms but might for other types of jobs, you get it from profs and/or legal employers (e.g., whoever you work for during 1L summer).

You do not need to seek another job/internship before law school.