BATTERED AND BRUISED

Ryan posting this one – Flash back to September 21, 2007. I was sworn in on the 19th so it is only my second day as an attorney. It is about 1:30 in the afternoon. I walk up to the front of the office to ask my secretary a question. While up there a man walks into the office and immediately the secretary says “(name withheld), you can’t be in here you need to leave.” She has fear etched on her face. He replies, I want to talk to one of the other attorneys. The attorney wasn’t there. He is wasted drunk, smells it and has an open beer in his hand. Long story short, this guy is a former client of the office, is drunk most hours of the day, and has some vendetta against the attorney for an unknown reason. Therefore, we have a thick file of recorded instances when he has called in and harassed the office on the phone or driven by that attorney’s home in an attempt to harass him and his family. When he learns that the attorney isn’t there he proceeds to make threatening remarks, climb on the counter, and act like an idiot. Three of us in the office tell him 15 to 20 times to leave but he refuses. The police are called and we tell him this but he still doesn’t leave. I keep my eyes on him the whole time but never make an aggressive move towards him. He doesn’t like the fact that I am staring at him, so he says some derogatory remark against attorneys in general and them open hand slaps me hard on the left side of my face. The other attorney in the office makes me step back as he postures for a fight. The other attorney tells him we don’t want any trouble and again tells him to leave. He finally decides to leave for some reason (unfortunately before the police arrive) and swears and threatens us on the way out. The police show up and they get a report on him. The other attorney at the office takes a picture of the mark he left on my face when he hit me for evidentiary purposes. Luckily, the police arrested him that night, but his sorry @%& parents posted the 1500 dollar bail for him and he got out of jail. His parents are the type that do not parent, they bail him out every time he gets in trouble, and guess what, the guy is over 40. Anyway, he will definitely be charged with disorderly conduct and will likely be charged with battery, and I’ll get to testify if it goes to trial. Can you believe it, two days as an attorney and I’m all ready getting physically abused. :o) Other then that work has been great since then.