Who is The Lawyer friend from All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten and what is their importance?

The Lawyer friend from is the 47 year old, long time friend of the author. He is a practicing lawyer, but seems to hate everything about the profession. Throughout the years, Robert's friend has tried very new fad that has come along, including taking part in war protests, civil unrest, vegetarianism, New Age, and so forth. He travels extensively with his family.