About Karen Lundquist
Karen Lundquist is a legal educator, practicing attorney, and civic engagement leader with experience in law, democratic institutions, and public-facing education
She teaches legal writing, contract drafting, and business-law-in-practice courses and works closely with students and community members to translate complex legal systems into practical understanding.
Her experience living and working in Italy deepened her comparative perspective on democratic systems — highlighting how institutional design, civic norms, and administrative structures vary across countries and shape democratic resilience.
Through The Civic Thread Project, she brings together:
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Legal rigor
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Teaching experience
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Constitutional literacy
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Comparative democratic insight
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Visual storytelling practice
Her work is grounded in a simple belief: Democracy endures through habits — listening, deliberating, remembering, and imagining — that people are willing to practice together.
In addition to her work with The Civic Thread Project, Karen Lundquist is the owner of Attenza Law, LLC, a Minneapolis-based firm focused on business law, contract drafting, and employment matters for small and mid-sized businesses. She has a particular passion for contract drafting, helping clients develop clear, practical agreements that protect their interests and support growth. Karen also represents landlords in landlord–tenant matters.
She graduated cum laude from William Mitchell College of Law in 2005 and has lived abroad in Italy and Chile for nearly 13 years combined. She speaks English and Italian fluently and has intermediate-to-advanced proficiency in Spanish, drawing on these experiences to assist local clients who may expand into international markets.
Karen is also a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School, where she teaches legal writing to foreign-trained attorneys and supervises a pro bono program in partnership with LegalCORPS, providing free legal services to small, start-up, and nonprofit businesses across Minnesota. She is also committed to animal advocacy, supporting businesses that promote animal welfare.