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Daniel J. Meltzer (1951–2015) was a Harvard Law professor who held leadership positions with the Institute and spent two years in the White House as a close legal advisor to President Obama. Meltzer received an A.B. in Economics from Harvard College in 1972 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he was President of the Harvard Law Review. Upon graduation, he served as a law clerk to Carl McGowan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart. From 1977 to 1978, he was Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. After that, he worked three years in private practice with the District of Columbia firm of Williams & Connolly.

A member of the Harvard Law School faculty since 1982, Meltzer was named the Story Professor of Law in 1998. From January 2009 to June 2010, he served as the Principal Deputy Counsel to President Obama. He was also the White House’s primary liaison to the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel. After he left the White House, Meltzer was appointed as a member of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board and of the Intelligence Oversight Board (IOB). 
In 1989, Meltzer was elected to The American Law Institute and was elected to the ALI Council in 1999. In January 2013, Meltzer was selected to succeed Lance Liebman as ALI Director. Meltzer later declined the appointment for health reasons and a renewed search ultimately led to the selection of NYU Law Professor and Dean Emeritus Richard L. Revesz.

On ALI’s Council, he served on the Executive Committee and Nominating Committee. He also served as an Adviser on three projects—Model Penal Code: Sentencing; the Federal Judicial Code Revision Project; and Model Penal Code: Sexual Assault and Related Offenses.  He also worked on the revision of the Model Penal Code’s Capital Punishment provision.
Meltzer is remembered for his superb intellect and wise counsel, for the rigor and integrity of his legal analysis, and for his generosity of spirit, constant kindness, and unflagging commitment to public service. In 2018, President Levi, Meltzer’s first cousin and close friend, established a fund in Meltzer’s name to support the continued work 
of ALI.