Two Indian Americans, Neha Gupta and Reema Shah, Named to Office of the White House Counsel
President-elect Joe Biden has named two Indian Americans to the Office of the White House Counsel, “to help restore faith in the rule of law and the accountability of government institutions.” Neha Gupta has been appointed as Associate Counsel, and Reema Shah is the Deputy Associate Counsel.
“My administration has no greater task than restoring faith in American government. Our White House Counsel’s Office will be built upon a foundation of integrity and honesty. This qualified and crisis-tested legal team will ensure that this administration is accountable and always operates in service of the American people,” said Biden.
“The American people deserve a government that is open, honest, and transparent. These dedicated public servants will help us meet the unprecedented challenges facing our nation while upholding the highest standards of ethics and integrity,” said Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
Gupta is an attorney in the Office of the General Counsel for the Biden-Harris transition. Prior to that, she served as a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, where she was general counsel to several city agencies, litigated constitutional and statutory challenges to city laws and administrative decisions, and participated in the office’s affirmative public protection advocacy.
Previously, Gupta clerked for Judge Michael Daly Hawkins of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Judge Richard Seeborg of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. A New York native, Gupta is a graduate of Harvard College and Stanford Law School.
Shah served on the debate preparation team for President-elect Biden on the Biden-Harris campaign. Prior to that, she was an associate at Latham & Watkins and a Bristow Fellow in the Office of the Solicitor General at the Department of Justice.
She served as a law clerk to Justice Elena Kagan on the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge Sri Srinivasan on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Originally from New Jersey, Shah is a graduate of Harvard College, Cambridge University, and Yale Law School. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband.