Eric Schrecter

Eric Schrecter is Helen Morgendorffer's boss, a senior partner at Vitale, Horowitz, Riordan, Schrecter, Schrecter, and Schrecter, the law firm where she works.

Eric in Canon
Eric's personality seems to be a combination of brutal taskmaster and needy infant. Both sides of his personality lead him to call Helen at all hours, with no regard for her family life or situation. In the episode "Fire!," when Helen tells him the Morgendorffers' house is on fire, he asks if he can stay on hold. Similarly, during "Jake of Hearts," Eric's insistence on continuing a pointless conversation keeps Helen on the phone even as Jake is having a heart attack; Helen finds herself being told what the doctor told Eric about his cheese consumption, claiming she'd "love" to hear it while looking stunned and confused that she's being told about it.

He has also been shown to ridicule lawyers at other firms for taking paternity leave. Several episodes imply that he has questionable ethics, and the episode "Aunt Nauseam" suggests he is addicted to amphetamines and has been in rehab at least twice to treat this addiction.

He has at least one niece, Jasmine, who is seen in the episode "Pierce Me."

In off-canon canon, he introduced the flipbook "The Transformed Staff": "As someone in a leadership position, I know how important it is to motivate your staff, so I'm always on the lookout for innovative ways of offering employee perks that don't cost me money. The folks who run Daria have the right idea: Turn some of the people who work for you into cartoon characters. That'll make them feel like you value them and it's no skin off your back."

In an interview, Glenn Eichler says Helen will become a partner at the firm after suing them for discrimination. "Eric won't speak to her for a year afterward. It will be the best year of her career." 

Appearances
Eric appears with speaking lines in The Teachings of Don Jake (off-camera), Pierce Me, Daria!, Psycho Therapy. In addition to these, Helen is seen talking to him on the phone in many other episodes.

A Romantic fixation on Helen?
There are indications that Eric's interest in Helen has become more than merely professional; his habit of contacting her by cell phone at all hours and with any problem could be seen, in concert with his co-dependent behavior, as attempting to manipulate events to steal her away from Jake. (This was insinuated in 'Psycho Therapy', when while role-playing Helen, Jake specifically brought up Helen's seemingly constant phone conversations with Eric and made the further insinuation that Eric's personal needs were more important than those of her own family:

''Jake: Um, gee, I don't know if I can do this. Well, I'll give it a try. (he extends his fingers to simulate a telephone and speaks like Helen) Oh, hi Eric! No, just walked in. I thought I'd make dinner for...what? You have a hangnail? I'll be right over!

(Helen nervously laughs and takes a drink of wine)''

The most obvious of these is in the musical episode, Daria!, with the following dialogue:

''Eric: Helen! What are you doing here?! There's a hurricane coming! I know I never said it before, but... (singing) Helen... oh, Helen... you're so swell... en. (looks at watch) Hot damn! I'll e-mail you. (leaves)''

It could be seen (by some) that Helen could be, on some level, receptive to Eric's attention. (This could be just Helen feeling older, and subconsciously wanting to feel wanted and needed on an adult level, as it's also been insinuated that, beyond sex, Helen and Jake's relationship has a maternal/caretaker touch to it). Obviously, Helen has never returned, or even seemed to have noticed these feelings of Eric's.

Eric in Fanfiction
The most common portrayal of Eric in fanfiction is similar to canon—the slave-driving boss who, inadvertently or deliberately, comes between Helen and her family.

Many stories play up Eric's attraction to Helen, though there are very few, if any, Helen/Eric shippers. Those shippers almost always fixate on a relationship that is purely physical in nature, as Eric has never demonstrated any inclinations towards romance in these fics. "The Cell" is a rare exception, though seen from Jake's view.

Harriet Schrecter was introduced in the John Lane series as Eric's patient, but also carefully manipulative, wife.

In stories featuring Jim Vitale, Eric is portrayed as an groveling incompetent unfit for the most important activities of the firm. Vitale generally keeps him around as a verbal punching bag, and always refers to him as Asshat, rather than by his given name. Other fanfic partners, such as Richard Riordan, also treat him with disrespect.

You will almost never find a fanfic where Eric Schrecter is a 'good' character. A rare exception is Smileyfax's "White Trash Daria" fic.

Triva

 * In "The Transformed Staff", Eric says: "I hear that I resemble a certain chairman of a certain group of big-time cable networks. Have Helen look into gutting those fair use parody exceptions to the copyright laws."