Southern District Judge Laura Taylor Swain has been selected to preside over Puerto Rico's bankruptcy-protection filing, which may lead to the largest municipal debt restructuring in U.S. history.

In a one-sentence order handed down May 5 by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., Swain was tasked with overseeing Puerto Rico's filing for a form of bankruptcy relief from its numerous creditors. Roberts did not explain why he selected Swain in his order.

Swain was an Eastern District bankruptcy judge from 1996 to 2000. After her appointment to the Southern District bench in 2000 by President Bill Clinton, she has presided over major financial criminal cases, including the trial of several former employees of Bernard Madoff and the guilty plea of SAC Capital Advisors. Swain is a 1982 graduate of Harvard Law School.