NYU Law - Beyond the Bench: SDNY Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain on Leadership in the Federal Courts

The role of a chief judge in any district court, much less the Southern District of New York, is an essential yet underdiscussed piece of the federal judiciary. Join ACS for a conversation with Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain of the Southern District of New York on the role of a chief judge in leading one of the most prominent federal district courts in the country. This is highly recommended for 1Ls or 2Ls interested in interning for a judge. Food will be served.

Judge Laura Taylor Swain has served on the U.S. District Court for SDNY since 2000 and as Chief Judge since 2021. She is the first black woman to serve as Chief Judge of SDNY. Before joining the district court, she served as a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for EDNY, worked in private practice, and clerked for Judge Constance Baker Motley in SDNY. Her work in SDNY has spanned overseeing Puerto Rico’s debt restricting under PROMESA, high-profile copyright and authorship disputes, defamation cases, and much more.