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been interested in expanding their practice to include municipalities and in particular, criminal <br />prosecution. <br />How will your firm make Ramsey a priority and meet the terms outlined in the RFP for meeting <br />attendance, response time for Council staff inquiries, document review turn - around, and once <br />hours? <br />John Berglund stated he was told by other attorneys, when he started his practice, that he could <br />not survive if he was on his own. He stated he has had other lawyers within his firm and they are <br />cognizant that when a client contacts them, they need to respond quickly. Because of that focus, <br />they have not had many clients leave them. John Berglund stated with this proposal, it suggested <br />responses within three days on some matters and five days on other matters but they would try to <br />respond within 24 hours or two days on important matters. <br />Mark Berglund stated the City would be a substantial client for their firm and their goal in <br />submitting a proposal was to be successful and represent the City for a long time. He stated <br />Ramsey would have apriority in that regard. Mark Berglund stated distance is not as significant <br />due to technology with smart phones and tablets, and they have those at their disposal and use <br />them. In addition, clients have their cellular telephone numbers and their e-mails are always on. <br />John Berglund stated the City of Ramsey would be a very important client for their firm. <br />If your firm is not located locally, how do you intend to manage drive time, getting to City Hall <br />on short notice, would officers be required to come to your office or would you come here for <br />compliant processing, etc? <br />Mark Berglund stated they are located in close proximity to the City Hall and the Court House so <br />it is not a burden to meet at the City Hall with police officers. In addition, there has been <br />movement towards an electronic complaint process (e- filing), which would be worth <br />implementing if it benefits the City and efficiency for police officers. He stated he thinks that <br />would save time for police officers. <br />John Berglund stated he is not sure how the current prosecutors function with the City but the <br />criminal matters the City Attorney handles for the City are petty misdemeanors and gross <br />misdemeanors, and the majority are probably drunk driving or assaults. He explained that <br />sometimes just a ticket is issued but with a gross misdemeanor, a report is filed, the City <br />Attorney prepares a complaint and contacts the officer to sign it and file it with the court. <br />Because of their location, if it is over a weekend and the person is in custody, they would <br />complete the complaint on Monday and the officer would come in and walk it over to the Court <br />House. If the person is in jail, they come into the courtroom and the officer can bring the <br />complaint into court and take care of the matter. John Berglund stated with the City's <br />prosecution, they think they could save the City some money and expand revenue from the <br />criminal process. John Berglund stated when someone is arrested, they want to cut a deal and <br />the prosecutor is to be sure if someone is charged with a crime and there is beyond reasonable <br />proof, that person should be charged. He stated the prosecutor has an obligation to seek justice <br />as well as penalties and there could be creative ways to deal with a defendant making a plea to <br />City Council Work Session / May 7, 2013 <br />Page 6 of 23 <br />