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Ok, so let me start out by saying I slightly confused about how Law Schools look at GPA's. Since you apply considerably before graduation from Under-grad school, I assume they can only look at your GPA up until the current time, as your final GPA would not be determined yet.

Anyway, here is my situation and question.

I am a Junior at a fairly small private university, and I just took the LSAT in February, scoring a 173. Currently my GPA is about a 3.82. But here's the part that I'm not sure about. My freshman year I did well, but not remarkably; I had just below a 3.6 GPA after my first year of school. The last three semesters I have gotten 4.0's and am expecting to get one for this semester as well as long as I don't flop on any final exams. Basically I started out without performing as well as I could and am now trying to make up for it, trying to increase my GPA. As I am trying to get into T14 schools, I realize it is very competitive, so here is my question:

Is it better to apply as early as possible in the Fall, or to wait until December after the end of the semester when I will (presumably) have an extra semester of 4.0 to boost my GPA? Is the early application worth more or less than an extra tenth or two on my GPA?

Your GPA is strong already. Apply early. A bunch of good schools will accept you straight away. You can then update your GPA when your fall grades come out. I wouldn't wait until your fall grades finally get through LSAC, and this might make you a later applicant than you would like.