SILENCE PROTECTS SYSTEMS, NOT PEOPLE.
I built my practice to challenge that one case at a time.
My work is about what happens when someone refuses to stay silent.
HI, I’M CARI.
A criminal defense and civil rights attorney and the founder of Lotus Legal PLLC.
I defend people against the power of the state through criminal defense, civil rights litigation, and cannabis-related legal and business matters.
I bring the perspective of a former federal judicial clerk, government attorney, and Big Law litigator to my work. That background informs how I prepare, assess risk, and show up when the stakes are high, and why I treat trust as something that must be earned.
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J.D., Georgetown University Law Center (2015)
Michael J. Feldman Advocate Award
B.A., Barnard College of Columbia University (2011)
Named Rising Star by Minnesota Super Lawyers*
* Rising Star recognition is limited to no more than 2.5% of attorneys under 40 and in their first 10 years of practice.
MY APPROACH
I practice human-centered defense because people are not problems to be managed or files to be processed.
Human-centered does not mean soft advocacy. It means disciplined preparation, intellectual honesty, and refusing narratives that flatten complexity or strip people of dignity.
WHEN WE WORK TOGETHER, YOU CAN EXPECT:
CLOSE LISTENING AND SERIOUS ATTENTION TO YOUR CONCERNS
Clear, direct communication
Rigorous preparation grounded in law, facts, and strategy
Candor about risk, tradeoffs, and outcomes
I will tell you what I see. I will tell you what I recommend. And I will tell you the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable.
I FOUNDED LOTUS LEGAL PLLC BECAUSE I WANTED TO BUILD THE LAW FIRM I ALWAYS WANTED TO WORK FOR.
Over the course of my career, I’ve seen the legal system from multiple vantage points.
That experience sharpened my technical skills, but it also clarified that the work that matters most to me was work that centered people, demanded courage, and required accountability from powerful institutions.
Operating as a solo practice is not a limitation. It’s a choice that lets me decide where my energy goes, how cases are handled, and when to push hard rather than move fast. It means I’m accountable directly to you, not to billing targets, internal politics, or someone else’s priorities.
I BELIEVE:
Power should be questioned,
not deferred to.
The Constitution is
not self-executing.
Rights only matter if someone
is willing to enforce them.
People are not their
worst moments.
Accountability is
not automatic.
Human-centered is not the
same as lenient.
