Known to his friends and colleagues as "Jack", Lapides was often called the conscience of the Maryland State Senate.

After two years in the United States Army, Lapides was accepted at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, where he earned his LL.B., in 1961.

Lapides was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1962, in 1966 he won his seat in the Maryland Senate, where he served until 1994 when redistricting caused him to lose the district he had served for 28 years.

He was a member of the Budget and Taxation Committee and the Public Safety, Transportation, Economic Development & Natural Resources Subcommittees.

Lapides was a contributor to and a member of the Maryland State Arts Council, past president of Baltimore Heritage, the American Antiquarian Society, the Peale Museum, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Walters Art Museum and Victorian Society in America.