Road leads attorney back to Austin

Business savvy Paul Egtvedt has worked with some of Minnesota's top attorneys from Fortune 500 companies and has his own office in the IDS Tower in Minneapolis, but when his entrepreneurial spirit and heart called him back to his hometown, he listened.
Born and raised in Austin, Egtvedt worked for various large law firms in Minneapolis before opening his own law firm there in 2003. He recently decided to leave the big city behind and return to his original home to open a firm on Main Street.
His office, on the top floor of the 111 building, is distinctively Egtvedt-sharp and professional, yet unpretentious.
The graduate of Cornell University said he chose to return to Austin so he could be closer to his family and to marry and settle down with his fiancee, Heather Wittstruck, who teaches at Southgate Elementary School. He also believes his experience working on complex issues for large businesses will be beneficial in a smaller community like Austin.
"There's just a level of familiarity and comfort in dealing with a community this size," said Egtvedt. "I like that you have an identity here. I like that there is a very active and vibrant business community here. You get to feel more like a part of (the clients') families. I'm very excited to be back."
Egtvedt practices in several areas of law, including employment, labor law, business and corporate law, personal injury, criminal defense and land use. He said he most enjoys working on employment issues because he's intrigued by human behavior.
"It's the least technical but the most complicated area because you are dealing so much with people," he said. "You're dealing with their moods, their state of mind and how people view the world and interact. It's just fascinating."
Egtvedt said his work is driven by people's emotions.
"I want to feel it, that they are angry or hurt of defensive or defenseless, and then aside from that, communicate back to them, 'Here is what the law can do for you,'" said Egvedt.
Egvedt said he enjoys being his own boss and called it a "happy happenstance" that his road led back to Austin.
"This is just something I've always wanted to do," said Egtvedt.
Being his own boss also benefits clients, said Egtvedt.
"They know exactly who's doing the work and making the decisions," he said. "They are getting the level of work and treatment they deserve."
Egtvedt recently became a member the Austin Area Chamber of Commerce and said he plans to eventually close his Minneapolis office to focus exclusively on his Austin clients.

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Prosecutors’ warn against changes to prison, criminal policy

The California District Attorneys Association and CDAA incoming President Gary Lieberstein of Napa County are urging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to abandon the proposal to commute the sentences of criminal aliens in state prisons in order to refer them to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation.

Such a policy is not only dangerous to public safety, but would “confer on criminal aliens benefits that are not available to inmates who are citizens of the United States,” according to the CDAA.

In a letter delivered Monday to the governor and lawmakers, CDAA cautioned against the deportation plan. “We believe that all inmates, regardless of their immigration status, should be held to the same level of accountability for their conduct,” stated the letter. “If you were to exercise your constitutional power to commute the sentences of any portion of the inmate population, we urge you to do so only after there has been an assessment of the risk of each individual for re-offending.”

CDAA also took issue with the administration’s proposal to reduce so-called “wobbler” offenses, i.e., crimes that can be charged as either felonies or misdemeanors, to straight misdemeanors, citing a host of unintended consequences that would “subvert prosecutorial efforts in numerous ways.”

The letter noted that crimes such as grand theft, vehicle theft, identity theft and other fraud offenses rob Californians of millions of dollars each year. Eliminating the ability of prosecutors to charge such “wobbler” offenses as felonies would jeopardize public safety by “blurring the lines between degrees of criminality such that participants in complicated, high-dollar theft rings would be subject to the same punishment as petty thieves.”

“Felony crimes carry longer statutes of limitations than misdemeanors. This means that prosecutions of major fraud cases, for example, which are often document driven and take months, if not years, to come together, could be lost,” the letter stated. “Under existing law, search warrants generally can only be issued in cases involving felonies. This proposal would effectively abolish the use of this vital law enforcement tool.”

While the letter from the prosecutors’ association acknowledges the historic magnitude of California’s economic crisis, it expressed concern that the justice system could be “irrevocably harmed” by some of the proposed cuts in criminal justice.

In a prepared statement, Lieberstein said, “We cannot allow public safety to be compromised by rushing to put a price tag on justice in order to cut state costs. There are alternatives available to the governor and legislative leaders that do not sacrifice our obligation to protect the safety of all Californians including the citizens of our county.”


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