What does it take to be a lawyer?

Hello Eddie. Good question - what does it take to be a lawyer? I would say three things -- education, skills and personality.
Education Requirements: In order to become a lawyer, you must have the proper credentials. Lawyers are licensed by the state that they work in and most states have very similar requirements. In order to become licensed in Texas, where I live, you must attend an accredited law school and pass a licensing exam (commonly called the bar exam). In order to go to law school, you must have a bachelor's degree. To prepare for college and law school, I would recommend classes in English, government, writing techniques, debate, acting and anything else that you enjoy. That leads me to the second thing, skills.
Skills: The top skills that lawyers need are reading, writing and attention to detail. Lawyers read A LOT. It is part of the job. It helps tremendously if your reading and comprehension skills are good. Depending on what type of law you decide to practice (and there are MANY MANY MANY different areas you can work in), almost all of them require reading and writing. Attention to detail is also very important. Attention to detail comes in when you perform research, speak with a client, read laws/cases or write a contract.
Personality: One of the great things about being a lawyer is that there are so many areas of the law that you can find something that fits your personality and natural abilities. For example, if you are more introverted and enjoy research and writing, you may become a briefing attorney, work for a judge or even for the Supreme Court. If you are an extrovert and enjoy debating, you may really like trial work. As a trial attorney, you could practice family law, criminal law, personal injury, employment or immigration law. If you love computers, cyber security and intellectual property are both very hot areas of the law. I have found that people enjoy what they are naturally good at, so spend some time thinking about what makes you enjoy and pursue that.
Volunteer work is a great way to give back while learning about yourself and developing skills you will need later. For example, where I live we have a teen court where teens can volunteer to work on real cases of their peers. Something like that would be fun and educational, and look great on your resume!
Best of luck to you!!

Hi Eddie!!
Here is a good law school near to where you are. It would be interesting for you to visit its campus and talk to people in the admissions office and the alumni relations office to learn more.

http://www.fordham.edu/info/20346/school_of_law

Also, talk to you teachers to learn about lawyers with whom you could meet and mingle.

Talk to your school counselor about coop, internship, shadowing, and internship programs that might enable you to get an "inside view" of this career area.

Here is another helpful resource:

http://www.collegeview.com/articles/article/so-you-think-you-want-to-be-a-lawyer

Send thank you notes to those who help you.

Keep me posted. I would like to follow your progress.