A new chief judge will assume leadership of the federal courts of the 1st Circuit today when appeals judge Michael Boudin succeeds Juan R. Torruella.

The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals is in Boston. It handles federal appeals from U.S. district and bankruptcy courts in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

As chief judge, Boudin will preside over the Judicial Council, an 11-member body that acts as the governing agency for the circuit. Its membership consists of six Court of Appeals judges and one district judge representative from each of the five circuits in the country.

Boudin will represent the circuit at semi-annual meetings of the Judicial Conference, the Washington, D.C., policy-making arm of the federal judiciary nationwide.

Other responsibilities Boudin will assume include supervising the work of all Court of Appeals units, including the offices of the chief executive, staff attorneys, clerk of court and settlement counsel and performing various administrative tasks.

Born in New York City, Boudin, 61, is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. After clerkships with 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Henry J. Friendly and Supreme Court Justice John M. Harlan, he joined the Washington, D.C., firm of Covington & Burling, first as an associate and then as a partner. He taught part time at Harvard Law School from 1982 to 1998.

Boudin’s current career in public service began in 1987 when he became deputy assistant attorney general in the antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1990, he was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In 1992, he was named to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. The chief judge of the circuit at that time was Stephen G. Breyer, who vacated the post in 1994 after being appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The vacancy was filled by Torruella.

Commenting on his successor, Torruella said Boudin is a “first-class person and an outstanding professional,” according to a publicity release.