Magazine for the professional car and truck rental industry.
At the Car Rental Show and other speaking engagements, LaPlaca was known for engaging his audience by pacing the aisles and asking probing questions.
of legal and regulatory compliance reference for vehicle rental companies large and small. T e Federal and State Guide to Vehicle Rental Law is a continually updated subscrip- tion service widely used by the rental indus- try. Launched in the 1990s, the State Guide is a comprehensive database containing laws, reg- ulations and court decisions aff ecting day-to- day rental operations. Web-based program Claims Involving Rent- ed Vehicles is designed for use in accident and loss claims. LaPlaca Law also produces the La- Placa Law Legislative Report, which tracks all state and federal legislation aff ecting the vehi- cle rental industry.
LaPlaca's work can also be found in the many articles contributed to Auto Rental News (ARN), in which he apprised readers of pend- ing legislation and regulations, court cases and legal trends to keep an eye on.
A Different Kind of Lawyer "He was our attorney, but he was way more
than that," says Stevens of Payless, summing up the general sentiment of LaPlaca as not only a colleague but a friend. "I could always call him and he would solve problems and get me think- ing in the right direction. It wasn't always on legal matters; he was more of a trusted advis- er, and really a mentor to me."
"He was so friendly and so talkative and so willing to off er advice, I'd sometimes have to yell at him to send me a bill," says Noah Lehmann-Haupt of Gotham Dream Cars. "He genuinely enjoyed this stuff ." "I'd call him sometimes and get all
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fi red up and I'd say we have to sue this guy," Lehmann-Haupt continues. "And his response would almost always be, 'that's probably not the best course of action; why don't you take this approach instead.' He took a very non-litigious approach to the law, which is terrifi c." "He was not confrontational," says Bonnie LaPlaca, his wife of 37 years. "He was a businessman's business-
THE PRACTICE CONTINUES Leslie Pujo, who joined LaPlaca Law in 2008, is continuing the
practice. Pujo is retaining Kristen Graf, who has worked with La- Placa Law since May 2011. Pujo also reports that Michelle Daley and Tanja Hens will be joining her as "Of Counsel" this month. Pujo's team is continuing the LaPlaca Law guides: the Federal and State Guide to Vehicle Rental Law, Claims Involving Rented Vehicles and the LaPlaca Law Legislative Report. She expects to complete updates by the end of the fi rst quarter or early second quarter. Pujo focuses on two primary areas — vehicle rental law, including
regulatory compliance and rental agreement drafting, and franchise law, including registration and disclosure matters, franchise relation- ship issues and structuring of franchise systems. Before joining LaPlaca Law, Pujo was in-house franchise counsel at Choice Hotels International Inc. and an associate at Wiley Rein LLP in Washington, DC.
16 ARN • MARCH / APRIL 2012
s f
At the 2011 Car Rental Show, Chris Brown
of Auto Rental News presents LaPlaca with the Russell Bruno Award for outstanding service to the car rental industry.
Previously, Pujo was an adjunct professor at the University of
Maryland University College where she taught face-to-face and online classes in multinational management, business law and busi- ness ethics. Pujo is currently on the board of directors of MCCPTA Educational Programs Inc., a nonprofi t organization providing enrichment programs in science, foreign languages and cultural arts to elementary and middle-school students. Pujo has been a speaker on several occasions at the International Franchise Association Legal Symposium and also speaks regularly on vehicle rental issues. Pujo received a J.D. with highest honors from
George Washington University in 1995 and an advanced degree (with honors) in international law from the University of Toulouse, France in 1996.
PUJO
man. His approach was to know the law and lay it out for his clients so they could come up with a business solution. He was the fi rst one to tell them to take a deep breath before say- ing 'I'll sue him.'"
"He was a voice of reason," says Bob Barton, president and COO of U-Save, and president of ACRA. "Michael could take the emotion and frustration out of a situation — whether it was a
