1) Connections definitely help, but you can make those connections yourself while doing the degree (for example, doing an internship unit, dropping in resumes at Community Legal Centres and Legal Aid offices so you can volunteer there, etc.) As another poster said, a Law degree doesn't pigeonhole you into a legal career either
2) If you know you want to study Law, then do NOT go to Melbourne Uni!
Apply for Monash, Deakin, LaTrobe, wherever - but don't waste three years doing an Arts degree because, from my experience
-(a) it feels like you're redoing VCE, so motivation can be hard to find (my grades were shite!
)
-(b) there's no guarantee you'll get into the JD anyway (unless your ATAR's 99.9 (something like that) or above, and even then it's a full-fee place.
3) You also MUST remember that uni isn't free. Eventually you'll have to start paying the debt,
-Arts and Law @ Melbourne would be roughly
$150K ($30K for Arts, $120K for Law)
-Law @ Deakin and Monash, roughly
$40-45K (probably about the same for LaTrobe too)