Preeta D. Bansal is a lawyer whose career has spanned government service and private practice. A partner at the international law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Ms. Bansal heads the appellate litigation group. She regularly represents major Wall Street and corporate clients on significant issues of law before the federal and state appellate courts, including the United States Supreme Court.  A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, she also serves on the advisory boards of several leading human rights and civil rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the National Women's Law Center.

Ms. Bansal served as the Solicitor General of the State of New York from 1999 through 2001. The New York Times called her a "legal superstar" and the New York Law Journal referred to her as "one of the most gifted lawyers of her generation, who combines a brilliant analytical mind with solid, mature judgment."

Ms. Bansal is a magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Harvard-Radcliffe College, and a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, where she was Supervising Editor of the Harvard Law Review. She served as a law clerk to Justice John Paul Stevens of the United States Supreme Court (1990-1991) and to Chief Judge James L. Oakes of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (1989-1990). She served as Counselor in the U.S. Justice Department and as Special Counsel in the Office of the White House Counsel from 1993-1996. She has taught constitutional law, and was a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Ms. Bansal was appointed to the Commission by former Senate Minority Leader Thomas Daschle (D-SD), and reappointed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). She served as Chair of the Commission in 2004-2005, and Vice Chair in 2007-2008.