Magazine for the professional car and truck rental industry.
editor's corner Remembering Michael LaPlaca
What can you possibly say about a lawyer who also built his own golf clubs, and computers?
A
s a writer, it was enjoyable — under the circumstances — to get to know Michael LaPlaca a little better through his family, friends and colleagues while researching
this issue's cover story. Because much of those remembrances couldn't quite fi t in the article, we give you just a bit more. Just one of Michael's legacies will be his work on craſt ing the rental agreement. When you look back on a life, most don't refl ect on the things that didn't happen. But the ca- reers of lawyers should in large part be defi ned by their abil- ity to protect their clients from legal action. You can be sure that Michael's rental agreements were scrutinized by some litigious-minded lawyers, who would then sit back down, perhaps in a huff , as they discovered they wouldn't fi nd any loopholes to build some case.
Michael was an ironical lawyer. He dispensed mountains of legal advice over the years. He got paid for a lot of it, hope- fully most, though if he had charged for all the free advice he could've built the Taj Mahal. But this conveyance of knowl- edge was never a burden for Michael. He genuinely enjoyed helping people.
He was non-litigious and non-confrontational. He didn't count every comma in an email and charge you for it. And he abhorred legalese. "He was an emphatically intelligent guy," says Noah Lehmann-Haupt of Gotham Dream Cars, a cli- ent and mentee. And yet, "I've never seen him speak down to a person or speak in anger to a person," says Lee Work- man, a friend and colleague from his early corporate days. Michael truly enjoyed his work and wanted to work un- til the day he died, which he just about succeeded in doing. But he knew how to relax and enjoy himself. "He had work- life balance way before there was such a phrase," his wife Bonnie says.
He loved golf, but not only that he made his own golf clubs and had the equipment to do it. Michael had been a season ticket holder for the Washington Redskins and Washington Capitals and, as a Georgetown graduate, an ardent Hoyas basketball fan.
He was a foodie and a great cook. He loved crab and crab cakes and a good bottle of red wine. He carried the title of
BY CHRIS BROWN
family chef throughout his life, creating family meals to en- tertain, in a variety of cuisines.
He was an avid reader of all kinds, from "airport novels"
to the New Yorker, Wall Street Journal and Wine Spectator. He dressed well, and made sure to be in one of his elegant suits at even more informal aff airs. T is seemed to belie his eternally easygoing nature.
Michael loved cars. He had many, and a variety of types, including a Trans Am, a 92 Ford T underbird, a two-door Mercedes coupe, BMWs, two Mazda Miatas and even that boxy little Scion xB, to name just a few. "He liked cars with spunk," Bonnie says. "He liked to drive sticks." Bonnie remembers the car he courted her with, a big yel- low Lincoln convertible. "He'd drive at night from Wash- ington, D.C. to New York with the top down to pick me up in it," she says.
Michael assumed the mantle of "elder statesman" for many years, though he was never behind the times. Early on, he was up to speed on storing documents electronically and putting his publications in electronic form. He computerized his bill- ing system, his data and his communications before soſt ware programs did all the work. He adapted to email in its infan- cy, during a time when the legality of electronic communi- cation was being sorted out. And he built a few computers, actually assembled them, though this may not come as a sur- prise from a man who built his own golf clubs. T e Car Rental Show was his stomping grounds, and so was Las Vegas. It's hard to imagine a show without Michael in the room, marching up and down the aisles, gesticulating to make a point. Someone should see to it that a low-stakes Texas Hold 'Em table leaves a seat empty in his honor. Michael lived a full, rich life and yet he died before his time. You just can't say goodbye that easily. But certainly, for those who knew you, Michael, for those you met and men- tored, they carry with them a bit of your grace, your good nature, your calm reasoning, your passion and compassion, and your respect. What can you possibly say about a lawyer who also built his own golf clubs, and his own computers? "We'll miss you much."
4 ARN • MARCH / APRIL 2012
