I am 23 and have also wanted to be a lawyer when i was your age, you have some time to go but for now ... Get yourself a cheap LSAT book and start to read over it and do some example ... It is extremely hard but challenging if you enjoy that stuff ... it has nothing to do with law but if you start checking that stuff out now by the time your a junior in college you should be scoring well into the 170's on your LSAT which will pretty much get you in anywhere you want to go.... Get real comfortable with the ?'s and format of the test and youll be on your way.. Also see if you can intern at a small law firm in your area .. thatll give you the real exposure you need... thats what turned me off from law... but for you it might make you want it even more
I envy you..I wish I had gone into law when I was young. Something I do, is using the internet to research issues. I am very careful, and look for sites that offer things like reviewing an issue, and it gives examples of real cases, and how they wound up being argued or decided. Sometimes, it gives summaries like "the state of NY usually goes this way but Texas has ruled more this way". Another place I have been is the American Bar association site, and the Texas Bar association site, to read what the ethics are supposed to be.
Trust me, this is not going to make me a lawyer (which the real lawyer will agree with). Other times, it gives me some clues as to how certain topics are normally handled. If nothing else, I love being as aware as I can.
Really, the best thing you can do now to become a lawyer is to work on basic skills that all lawyers need, particularly writing. Courses that help you to think logically and analytically, like social sciences are also helpful. Developing verbal communication skills, through public speaking opportunities or even theater or acting courses will help.
Ask a parent, relative, or family friend to introduce you to any lawyers they know. Express your interest in what they do and they'll probably share their knowledge with you. You can't be a lawyer without going to college, so find out where they went to school. People are often happy to talk about themselves (i.e. toot their own horns). Use that opportunity to find out what you need to know.
Don't worry about it too much at your age. Its great to have aspirations and goals and its great to get involved in organizations that interest you, but you can't start becoming a lawyer until after you finish getting your college degree.
Go to the best college you can, it doens't have to particularly specialize in anything, in fact, a broader college tends to be better because most people switch majors at least once and its good to have options. Among just about anything else, economics, business, philosophy (that was my major), and political science are all popular for law. If you want to go into patent law, you need a science degree, that's the one major restriction.
Personally, I recommend taking a year off between college and law school. There is a much more grounded mentality among people who worked for at least a year. The ones who went straight to law school treated law school much more like college, where you're there as much to have fun as to get an education. Academically, they did just as well, but they tended to drink a lot more and mature a lot less. Lots of exceptions of course, but its something I noticed.
When I was 17 I wanted to be a physicist. Then I dabbled in film before settling on philosophy. A year out of college, I decided on law and I'm taking the bar exam in a few days. You really never know where you'll end up at your age. Shoot for your goals, but keep your options open too. Good luck.
EDIT: Lawyer X makes a good point about the public speaking, that helps a lot. Many people really struggle with that during law school and for their first several years in litigation.
Here is the skinny from a new lawyer who is an old man. It does not matter what you do prior to taking the LSAT. Your LSAT score alone will get you into law school. Forget business law and throw out John Grisham. Here is my sure fire plan, take an undergraduate degree in philosophy (seems like a throw away degree with no career path, but it will teach you how to argue), participate in school government or events in any way that will improve your publice speaking, get international experience (work or study abroad), graduate with as high a GPA as possible, but don't worry about that point as much. Worry more about taking a full year off and preparing for two things the LSAT and your letters of intent. LSAT is a gimee and your background in philosophy will make the logic portions a cinch. As for the letters of intent just make sure you actually have something to say. It is not a resume, it is reflective of your ability to make your own case. Lastly, before you get on track decide whether you want to be a real lawyer and litigate or some mamby pamby contract writer as those paths are contradictory. And most of all I won't say good luck, because if you play your cards right you won't need it.
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