Rich Peiser, the office bozo

Rich Peiser is the office ugly American. He screams and curses all day long, at clients, other lawyers, and people in the office. Yesterday he had a fight with the Spanish neat freak. Apparently they're working on a case together. Rich accused Juan of not signing a release that Rich emailed him. They cursed and screamed at each other for half and hour, until it was determined that Rich never sent the email. Then I had to deal with Juan gloating the rest of the day. Juan went into his office and shut the door, emerging a minute later. He did what I can only describe as a Pee-wee Herman dance, with his wrists on his chin and his palms facing the floor, and said something I found puzzling: "Esta mierda esta mucho mejor." The only thing I can think of is that he had a drug delivery earlier in the day.


He wouldn't be the only one with a substance abuse problem. Rich likes one, two, or three drinks for lunch. Additionally, he's always eying Juan's liquor cabinet.


Last week Rich had a fight with a now former client, who wanted certain documents that Rich couldn't find. Apparently Rich and his boss didn't do any of the things they were supposed to, and now, with a looming court date, the unfortunate woman had to find another lawyer. It was interesting to see. After every frantic question the woman asked him, Rich would run out of the suite, pretending to be upset. During the incident, Juan stepped out of his office and asked if there was a problem. The woman said that Rich would not give her her documents. In a very chivalrous way, Juan quietly stepped back into his office and closed the door.

Rich is in the same kind of position I'm in, but with more years of experience. He works for a solo practitioner, who's not as much of an idiot as my boss Ben. Rich, it should also be noted, is a better lawyer than Ben.