Hi there!

Well I have worked as a Paralegal for a while between my first degree and going back to do the LLB.  Quite a few people I worked with were law graduates.  I had no paralegal qualifications to get the position, although was doing remortgage work as opposed to general practice)  Now if you were taking quite a bit of time out you could take these qualifications, and i also believe some employers will put you through the course.

I don't know if its exactly what you would be looking for but I found it really useful just to be in a firm and interacting with solicitors etc.  Depending on the kind of work you did I also think it is a really good way to see all the small things like communication procedures, how different matters are handled, basic legal work and so on.  It was the first time I had worked in an office environment aswell which was invaluable.

Money wise dependant on what you were doing eg general practice of more specialised I think you can earn a respectable amount.

Now I am by no means an expert on the subject (!) and if you were thinking of this route would suggest that quite a few others on the forum may be able to offer more advice regarding the qualifications etc.

Hope that helped a bit!!