Michael Fjetland's career combines international legal work, business negotiation, investigation, crisis problem-solving, aviation and media analysis.
Early international legal experience with major American engineering and industrial companies exposed Fjetland to large projects, foreign governments, commercial negotiations and the practical realities of doing business abroad.
Worked in Beijing as an international legal negotiator during the early period of China's reopening to Western business. The experience provided firsthand exposure to dramatically different legal, political and negotiating cultures.
Handled a multimillion-dollar international fraud matter involving European locations and cross-border deception, reinforcing the importance of testing assumptions and following facts across jurisdictions.
Travelled with a Texas mother seeking the return of her 12-year-old daughter from Syria, a matter requiring persistence, cultural awareness and judgment in an environment far removed from an American courthouse.
Following September 11, appeared frequently on Houston television analyzing terrorism, Middle Eastern developments and national-security issues.
Served as a pilot with the Civil Air Patrol, the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary, including search-related activities following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
These photographs show Fjetland in Beijing thirty years apart—from his early international legal-negotiation work in 1982 to a return visit in 2012. The contrast reflects the extraordinary economic transformation he witnessed firsthand.