Jack D. Lapidus

Jack D. Lapidus is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Thomas, Thomas & Hafer and is a member of the firm’s general liability practice group.

Mr. Lapidus graduated from Rutgers College at Rutgers University in 1991 and earned his law degree from George Washington University Law School in 1994. Prior to joining Thomas, Thomas & Hafer, Mr. Lapidus worked as managing partner at a small, insurance defense firm that served DC, MD and VA. He works in all fields of civil litigation with significant experience in premises liability, motor vehicle negligence, torts, complex insurance coverage issues, and consumer protection litigation.

Mr. Lapidus has served as lead counsel in a vast variety of trials pending in State and Federal Court in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. He has secured decisions for his clients in a wide range of insurance coverage, premises liability, negligence, tort, consumer protection and catastrophic injury claims and litigated statutory claims brought under the Federal Truth in Lending Act, the Federal Odometer Act, the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, State and Federal EEO statutes, an array of claims brought under the District of Columbia Condominium Act as well as the state consumer protection statutes in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. His experience extends from basic personal injury and contract litigation to serious cases involving multi-million dollar claims

In addition to his trial experience, Mr. Lapidus has argued before the Virginia Supreme Court, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the D.C. Circuit, the Fourth Circuit and in Maryland’s Appellate Courts. Key decisions include: application and extension of the Professional Rescuer’s Doctrine in D.C.; confirming the non-liability of a rental car company for non-permissive use under the D.C. ownership statute; application of the statutory damages cap under the Federal Truth in Lending Act; defining a pet owner’s duty in the absence of an applicable leash law; and an explanation on the applicability of the sudden emergency doctrine in a case affirming the non-liability for a passenger’s fall from an elevator.

Mr. Lapidus has lectured at the Institute for Paralegal Education and presented several training courses for clients and at professional conferences on topics including automobile litigation and liability coverages in MD, VA and DC. Mr. Lapidus is the past Vice-President of the DC Defense Lawyer’s Association and is presently the President of that organization.