Tennessen Law, PLC

Robert Tennessen represents clients before the Minnesota State Legislature, the executive department state agencies, city councils, and county boards.  He has advocated on behalf of clients before the governor, attorney general, and the Metropolitan Council.  He has extensive experience advising clients on a range of issues and industries including insurance, transportation, privacy, excise taxes, banking, education testing and technology, and regulation of professional licensing.  Robert has represented clients before the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Reserve System and FDIC.

Robert's knowledge of state and local government translates into effective problem solving on behalf of his clients. He served for more than a decade in the Minnesota State Senate, including chairing the Senate Commerce Committee, and three subcommittees: Judicial Administration, Data Privacy, and Corrections.  Other committees on which he served include the Rules, Judiciary and Finance Committees.  He was also a member of the Legislative Audit Commission. 

Robert remains deeply engaged in the development and analysis of state and federal law. In 1999, he was elected to the prestigious American Law Institute, a legal think tank of judges, academics, and practitioners dedicated to clarifying and simplifying the law.  He is also in his nineteenth year as a state appointee to the national Uniform Law Commission (ULC), which aims to bring clarity and uniformity to critical areas of state law.  He is a member of the ULC’s Executive Committee, and chairs its Legislative Committee with responsibility for obtaining passage of uniform acts by the states.

Early in his career, Robert developed a reputation as an expert in the area of privacy and data practices. While chairing the Minnesota State Senate's Privacy Subcommittee, he authored the landmark Data Practices Act -- Minnesota's first comprehensive legislation of its kind.  The United States Senate later appointed him to serve on the seven-member Federal Privacy Protection Study Commission that issued the seminal work Personal Privacy in an Information Society.

In 2000, Bob was honored by the University of Minnesota School of Social Work’s Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare for his contribution to safeguarding the privacy rights of families served by the child welfare system.  The University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts has also honored Bob with its Notable Achievement Award.

A Minnesota native, Robert has been active in community affairs throughout his entire career.  He has served on the Board of Directors for the Guthrie Theater, Washington Federal Saving & Loan Association, Greater Lake Country Food Bank, Groves Academy (past chair), Basilica of St. Mary Finance Council (past chair and organizer), and the Institute on Black Chemical Abuse (now part of African American Family Services).

A veteran of the Unites States Air Force, Bob received an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Minnesota and a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School. He is a current member of the American, Minnesota and Hennepin County Bar Associations. Bob is admitted to practice in the state and federal courts in Minnesota and the federal Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.