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Indian-Americans in key posts

Washington: Hours before his inauguration, Barack Obama appointed two leading Indian-American lawyers — Neal Kumar Katyal and Preeta Bansal — to key posts.

Neal Kumar Katyal’s appointment to the post of Principal Deputy Solicitor General follows that of Preeta Bansal as General Counsel and Senior Policy Advisor at the Office of Management (OMB) and Budget at the White House.

Preeta Bansal, considered to be part of the Mr. Obama’s inner circle, was earlier mentioned as possible Solicitor General in the Obama administration. Mr. Katyal, professor of law at the Georgetown University Law School in Washington DC, as number-two person at the Solicitor General’s office will be the highest-ranking Indian-American in the U.S. Department of Justice.

Mr. Katyal (37) shot into fame on June 29, 2006, when the U.S. Supreme Court agreed with hid arguments on behalf of Salim Ahmed Hamdan — a former chauffeur for Osama bin Laden — which challenged the policy of military trials at Guantanamo Bay.

Preeta Bansal is currently partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP in New York city. Since 2003, Ms. Bansal has also been a Commissioner of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, serving as chair in 2004-2005. From 1999-2002, Ms. Bansal was Solicitor General of the State of New York. — IANS

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