Karen Burstein is a politician and former judge from New York. She was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for New York State Attorney General in 1994. Burstein grew up in Lawrence, Nassau County, New York. Burstein served as a state senator representing Queens in the 1970s. She later moved into the administration of former Gov. Mario Cuomo as the Chairwoman and Executive Director of the State Consumer Protection Board. Burstein then served as the Auditor General of New York City and then as a Judge of the New York City Family Court.