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 admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1965.
Following his two-year stint in the U.S. Army, Lapides enrolled at the University of Maryland's law school, graduating with an LL.B. in 1961. He was subsequently licensed to practice law in Maryland in 1965.