Federal Judge Laura Taylor Swain presided over the first hearing of the government’s bankruptcy case with strict punctuality and demonstrated impeccable organization and knowledge of the historic case she will handle in the coming years.

Before a room full of legal representatives of all interested partiesofthe complex case, the judge began, minutes before the scheduled time, to complete the full work schedule established for the hearing.

Before starting the work, the magistrate took a few minutes to talk about what she anticipated would be a ‘difficult’ process for which there is no historical precedent and which will bring a lot of ‘pain’.

‘Failure is not an option. We cannot turn off the light and close the door … not everyone will receive what they want,’ said the judge who said she felt ‘honored’ to have been assigned to handle the bankruptcy case Puerto Rico.

Among her goals in the judicial process will be to protect Puerto Ricans, maintain professional talent in Puerto Rico and restore economic growth of the island.

‘She showed sensibility. The judge has an excellent temper. She proved to be very prepared and to have read everything that was filed, including what was filed out of term, ‘said lawyer John Mudd, who was present in the judicial process on behalf of CMA Architects <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>& Engineers./p

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Despite the number of lawyers and pending motions to attend at the first hearing, the judge listened to the parties maintaining control over the time in the courtroom and streamlining the proceedings by proposing previously worked amendments on controversial issues to balance the interests of all parties./p

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One of the biggest controversies between the creditors and the legal representatives of the Fiscal Control Board was the motion to consolidate the bankruptcy cases of the Government of Puerto Rico and Cofina. The judge approved that both cases be dealt with together in an administrative manner. With this decision, Taylor Swain highlighted her previous experience as a bankruptcy judge in finding practical solutions to handle the objections and addressing the concerns of all parties./p

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‘The judge studied her case. She gave me an excellent impression of how she prepared herself and she was proactive in eliminating unnecessary disputes among lawyers. It was very well prepared,’ the bankruptcy lawyer Rolando Emmanuelli addressed./p

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During the long day, which lasted until midafternoon, the judge addressed the arguments carefully, took notes, interrupted the parties to ask specific questions and even to propose amendments or clarify the specific language of the motions. In a good mood, and with a smile she asked the parties to redirect their approaches to go straight to the point, thus maintaining full control over the room./p

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At times she seemed inclined to mediation as a remedy for disputes between creditors./p

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‘The judge, as all judges, wants everything to be resolved by transaction. That’s not going to happen here. She’s going to order mediation, ‘Mudd said./p

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On the trial, Judge Taylor Swain announced that all documents and decisions will be freely available to the public through the web, where they will also transmit the judicial hearings to be held. She also ordered that the documentation be published in English and Spanish so that they can be reviewed by all citizens./p

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‘I have a lot on the plate; But transparency is an important issue,’ Taylor Swain said in the first of at least six court hearings to be held this year. The next hearing will be in June, she announced.