Preeta D. Bansal
Encyclopedia
Preeta D. Bansal is an American lawyer who served as the General Counsel to the federal Office of Management and Budget from 2009 until announcing her departure for an undisclosed think tank in June 2011. Prior to her work in the Obama administration, she served as a law partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
and as the Solicitor General of the State of New York during Attorney General Eliot Spitzer
's first term. She also has been a member and past chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
(USCIRF).
in 1986 and a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School
in 1989. She served as Supervising Editor of the Harvard Law Review
. After graduating from Harvard Law School, she clerked for Chief Judge James L. Oakes
of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1989 to 1990 and for United States Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens
from 1990 to 1991.
, she assisted Joel Klein
, Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division, on United States v. Microsoft
and other matters.
In 1999, newly elected New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer
recruited her to serve in his office as Solicitor General of the State of New York, the statutory ranking officer after the Attorney General. In that capacity, she was in charge of the office's appellate activities, supervising 45 lawyers in the Solicitor General's Office who filed 40 to 50 appellate briefs each week, and she also helped manage the significant legal positions and amicus strategy of the 600 lawyers in the Attorney General’s Office. Bansal won the “Best United States Supreme Court Brief” award from the National Association of Attorneys General
during every year that she served as New York Solicitor General, and is widely credited with initiating significant managerial reforms to enhance the legal excellence, efficiency and transparency of the Solicitor General's Office and with providing the intellectual underpinning of "federalism" that later animated Attorney General Spitzer's active state enforcement agenda.
Bansal returned to Nebraska and taught Constitutional Law, Federalism, and a seminar on "Courts, Politics and Legal/Social Change: Evaluating the Limits and Successes of Rights-Based Approaches" as a Visiting Professor at the University of Nebraska Law School from 2002-2003. She was a Visiting Fellow at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government
in 2003.
Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle
chose Bansal for the bipartisan United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
(USCIRF) in 2003, USCIRF biography of Preeta Bansal]at which time she also rejoined private law practice in New York at Skadden, Arps. The USCIRF investigates freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad and recommends countries for designation as Country of Particular Concern
by the United States Secretary of State
. As Chair of the USCIRF from 2004–2005, she presided over nationally and internationally acclaimed Commission studies on human rights guarantees in the national constitutions of predominantly Muslim countries, and on the expedited removal process for U.S. asylum seekers.
Prior to her association with the Obama campaign, Bansal was a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
, Bansal led the firm's appellate litigation and complex legal issues practice. In a "Public Lives" profile of her in 1999, the New York Times referred to her as a "legal superstar" and a "nimble, unorthodox thinker interested in art and literature" who "was attracted to the law's blend of the philosophical and pragmatic." She has appeared as a commentator on legal issues and U.S. Supreme Court matters on CNN, C-SPAN and PBS news programs. She was mentioned as a possible Solicitor General
in the Barack Obama
Administration before Harvard Law School
Dean Elena Kagan
was announced as Obama's selection for the post.
On January 19, 2009, the Obama transition announced that Bansal had been chosen to serve at the Office of Management and Budget as General Counsel and Senior Policy Adviser.
On June 21, 2011, The National Law Journal
reported that Bansal is stepping down as general counsel of OMB and will spend some time at a think tank.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates , founded in 1948, is a prominent law firm based in New York City. With over 2,000 attorneys, it is one of the largest and highest-grossing law firms in the world. Forbes magazine calls Skadden "Wall Street's most powerful law firm"...
and as the Solicitor General of the State of New York during Attorney General Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Laurence Spitzer is an American lawyer, former Democratic Party politician, and political commentator. He was the co-host of In the Arena, a talk-show and punditry forum broadcast on CNN until CNN cancelled his show in July of 2011...
's first term. She also has been a member and past chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the leadership of both political parties in the Senate...
(USCIRF).
Early life and education
Bansal was raised in Lincoln, Nebraska. She received an A.B. magna cum laude from Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1986 and a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
in 1989. She served as Supervising Editor of the Harvard Law Review
Harvard Law Review
The Harvard Law Review is a journal of legal scholarship published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School.-Overview:According to the 2008 Journal Citation Reports, the Review is the most cited law review and has the second-highest impact factor in the category "law" after the...
. After graduating from Harvard Law School, she clerked for Chief Judge James L. Oakes
James L. Oakes
James Lowell Oakes was a senior circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit....
of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1989 to 1990 and for United States Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from December 19, 1975 until his retirement on June 29, 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the oldest member of the Court and the third-longest serving justice in the Court's history...
from 1990 to 1991.
Career
Following private practice in Washington, D.C., Bansal worked in the Clinton Administration from 1993 to 1996 as a Counselor in the U.S. Department of Justice and as a White House Special Counsel. At the Justice DepartmentUnited States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
, she assisted Joel Klein
Joel Klein
Joel Irwin Klein was Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, the largest public school system in the United States, serving more than 1.1 million students in more than 1,600 schools...
, Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division, on United States v. Microsoft
United States v. Microsoft
United States v. Microsoft was a set of civil actions filed against Microsoft Corporation pursuant to the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 Section 1 and 2 on May 8, 1998 by the United States Department of Justice and 20 U.S. states. Joel I. Klein was the lead prosecutor...
and other matters.
In 1999, newly elected New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Laurence Spitzer is an American lawyer, former Democratic Party politician, and political commentator. He was the co-host of In the Arena, a talk-show and punditry forum broadcast on CNN until CNN cancelled his show in July of 2011...
recruited her to serve in his office as Solicitor General of the State of New York, the statutory ranking officer after the Attorney General. In that capacity, she was in charge of the office's appellate activities, supervising 45 lawyers in the Solicitor General's Office who filed 40 to 50 appellate briefs each week, and she also helped manage the significant legal positions and amicus strategy of the 600 lawyers in the Attorney General’s Office. Bansal won the “Best United States Supreme Court Brief” award from the National Association of Attorneys General
National Association of Attorneys General
The National Association of Attorneys General is an organization of 56 state and territorial attorneys general in the United States...
during every year that she served as New York Solicitor General, and is widely credited with initiating significant managerial reforms to enhance the legal excellence, efficiency and transparency of the Solicitor General's Office and with providing the intellectual underpinning of "federalism" that later animated Attorney General Spitzer's active state enforcement agenda.
Bansal returned to Nebraska and taught Constitutional Law, Federalism, and a seminar on "Courts, Politics and Legal/Social Change: Evaluating the Limits and Successes of Rights-Based Approaches" as a Visiting Professor at the University of Nebraska Law School from 2002-2003. She was a Visiting Fellow at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
in 2003.
Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle
Tom Daschle
Thomas Andrew "Tom" Daschle is a former U.S. Senator from South Dakota and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
chose Bansal for the bipartisan United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the leadership of both political parties in the Senate...
(USCIRF) in 2003, USCIRF biography of Preeta Bansal]at which time she also rejoined private law practice in New York at Skadden, Arps. The USCIRF investigates freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad and recommends countries for designation as Country of Particular Concern
Country of Particular Concern
Country of Particular Concern is a designation by the United States Secretary of State of a nation guilty of particularly severe violations of religious freedom under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 and its amendment of 1999...
by the United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
. As Chair of the USCIRF from 2004–2005, she presided over nationally and internationally acclaimed Commission studies on human rights guarantees in the national constitutions of predominantly Muslim countries, and on the expedited removal process for U.S. asylum seekers.
Prior to her association with the Obama campaign, Bansal was a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates , founded in 1948, is a prominent law firm based in New York City. With over 2,000 attorneys, it is one of the largest and highest-grossing law firms in the world. Forbes magazine calls Skadden "Wall Street's most powerful law firm"...
, Bansal led the firm's appellate litigation and complex legal issues practice. In a "Public Lives" profile of her in 1999, the New York Times referred to her as a "legal superstar" and a "nimble, unorthodox thinker interested in art and literature" who "was attracted to the law's blend of the philosophical and pragmatic." She has appeared as a commentator on legal issues and U.S. Supreme Court matters on CNN, C-SPAN and PBS news programs. She was mentioned as a possible Solicitor General
United States Solicitor General
The United States Solicitor General is the person appointed to represent the federal government of the United States before the Supreme Court of the United States. The current Solicitor General, Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 6, 2011 and sworn in on June...
in the Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
Administration before Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
Dean Elena Kagan
Elena Kagan
Elena Kagan is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving since August 7, 2010. Kagan is the Court's 112th justice and fourth female justice....
was announced as Obama's selection for the post.
On January 19, 2009, the Obama transition announced that Bansal had been chosen to serve at the Office of Management and Budget as General Counsel and Senior Policy Adviser.
On June 21, 2011, The National Law Journal
The National Law Journal
The National Law Journal, a U.S. periodical founded in 1978, reports legal information of national importance to attorneys, including federal circuit court decisions, verdicts, practitioners' columns, coverage of legislative issues and legal news for the business and private sectors.The...
reported that Bansal is stepping down as general counsel of OMB and will spend some time at a think tank.