<p>To OP, </p>
<p>Working a year or two before law school is the norm. At least for the schools that my D applied - all within T14 - only ~24% of the enrolled students go straight from undergraduate. Many law schools view work experience as a positive. In fact Northwestern would only take on students who have worked. The school actually admit highly qualified students in UG with a hefty scholarship on the provision that they take a year off. My D works in a consulting firm for a year before she applied, and one of her LOR is from the firm. </p>
<p>Maximizing your chance to get into a good law school is important for career outcome. Secondly, even good law schools such as UPenn give out merit scholarships so that if work experience adds weight to your application, go for it. I did not know any of these before my D started her process, and it is not necessarily common knowledge for most of us patents. Good that you have conversations with your stepdad. Best,</p>