Mortimer Caplin Leaves Legacy at IRS, Top D.C. Law Firm

Mortimer Caplin, who helped shape the IRS and a major Washington, D.C. law firm, died July 15 at the age of 103.

Caplin was IRS commissioner under former President John F. Kennedy and later co-founded Caplin & Drysdale. As IRS chief, he worked to make the agency kinder and friendlier, according to an obituary from his alma mater, the University of Virginia.

Scott Michel, a member at Caplin & Drysdale who has been at the firm for nearly four decades, said that Caplin played a key role in the firm’s culture.

“Those of us who are old-timers around here frequently comment that the tone and culture and the level of excellence that we aspire to, you can trace right back to the tone and culture and level of excellence that Mort Caplin conveyed,” Michel said.

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig said in a statement that Caplin had a powerful personal story and career of public service, highlighting his time at the IRS and as a beachmaster at Omaha Beach during the Normandy Invasion in World War II.

“Indeed, throughout Mort’s incredible life, his service and dedication personally embodied what it takes to preserve America and its way of life. He will be missed,” Rettig said.

Read more at Bloomberg Law.