Lyndsey Olson has served as the Saint Paul City Attorney since 2018, appointed by Mayor Melvin Carter. She leads a team of nearly 100 legal professionals in Minnesota’s second-largest municipal law office, guiding all legal operations for the City of Saint Paul with a focus on equity, innovation, and access to justice.
A 2003 graduate of Hamline School of Law, Lyndsey has also been an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota Law School. From 2013 to 2018, she was the first woman to serve as General Counsel for the Minnesota National Guard and Department of Military Affairs. A Colonel in the Minnesota National Guard JAG Corps, she is the first female Staff Judge Advocate of the 34th Infantry Division, a combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and a Bronze Star recipient. She is also a 2020 graduate of the U.S. Army War College.
Lyndsey is a nationally recognized legal leader, frequently speaking at CLEs and contributing to legal scholarship. Her honors include Minnesota Business Journal’s “Top In-House Counsel” and “40 Under 40,” Minnesota Lawyer’s “Attorney of the Year,” and she is a Litigation Counsel of America Fellow. She currently chairs Ramsey County’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and serves on several boards, including Ramsey County Volunteers in Corrections, Central Minnesota Legal Services, and the Minnesota County Attorneys’ Association.
