Christopher Edley Jr, the civil rights expert the presidents listened to, has died at the age of 71

He served as counselor in the Carter, Clinton, and Obama White Houses and taught at Harvard and Berkeley, where he was dean of the law school.

Christopher Edley Jr. a civil rights expert and political adviser who worked closely with three Democratic presidents and six presidential campaigns and served as the innovative dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law, died Friday in Stanford, Calif. He was 71.

His wife, Maria Echaveste, deputy chief of staff under President Bill Clinton, said the cause of death at the hospital was complications from surgery.

Although he spent most of his career teaching, including 23 years at Harvard Law School, his alma mater, Mr. Edley's career has spanned both academia and politics.

In the late 1970s, he worked on the White House Domestic Policy Staff, specializing in issues such as food stamps, child welfare, and disability under President Jimmy Carter. More than a decade later, he took a leave of absence from Harvard to become associate director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Clinton.

Both positions came after serving as a top adviser to the Democratic campaign, which he also held for Michael Dukakis, Al Gore, Howard Dean and Barack Obama.

In all cases, he was known as a staunch supporter of liberal policies on race, especially affirmative action, which often put him at odds with Democratic centrists seeking to soften the party's stance on civil rights.