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I'll likely be entering law school with a year or two of experience in consulting (at a firm that's among the top in its branch of consulting, and within Vault's top 20 overall). I am interested in whether this experience would help me when recruiting for a law firm after my 1L year. Would that previous work experience be any sort of asset in recruiting and interviewing (proving that I can handle rigorous, slow work or whatever), or is that experience irrelevant at that point and entirely subordinate to academic performance within law school? Thanks!

All work experience helps. The better the work experience, the more it will help.

However, some firms will still have strict grade/rank cut-offs, and people still have to like you in interviews, so w/e isn't everything.