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At a Glance

Uppers

“The pro bono commitment is real.”

“The positive culture around supporting associates' ambitions of judicial clerkships or government service.”

“Colleagues who are friendly, respectful, brilliant, and interesting.”

Downers

“The firm can sometimes feel a little more academic than social.”

“The firm can penny pinch.”

“The firm technology feels like it’s from 2002.”

About Covington & Burling

This “brain trust” law firm is known for quietly (and smartly) going about its business—that business being antitrust, litigation, white collar defense & investigations, corporate, IP, export controls, data privacy and cybersecurity, and regulatory work—with particular strengths in the sports, insurance, life science/pharma, energy, tech, and media/entertainment industries.

Capital Roots

Judge J. Harry Covington and Edward B. Burling founded their firm in Washington, DC, in 1919, with a (then unique) concept of a firm focused on regulatory issues. Since that founding, it would be hard to find many members of the Fortune 200 that have not worked with Covington. The firm played significant roles in many of the leading legal matters that arose from the New Deal. Later, in the 1950s, Covington lawyers wrote the key briefs in the Steel Seizure cases. As the federal government expanded, so did Covington, with a focus on issues involving the FDA, the IRS, the FAA, the FCC, and any number of other multi-lettered agencies. With this Washington-focused practice, it’s no wonder that the firm has numerous former government officials among its ranks.

Major League

Covington counsels across myriad industries, including aerospace; consumer brands; digital health; energy; financial services; gaming; life sciences; media, internet, and technology; mining and metals; sports; and transportation.

The firm is well known for its white collar team, which boasts more than 100 lawyers—including former high-profile government lawyers—and sits comfortably within Vault’s top five firms for White Collar Defense & Internal Investigations. Clients regularly call on the firm to handle matters involving crisis management, the False Claims Act, internal investigations, regulatory issues, shareholder litigation, whistleblower claims, and much more.

One simply can’t discuss Covington without mentioning its robust sports practice. With more than 50 years of experience, Covington’s sports law department is an all-star team in and of itself. The group has represented the likes of MLB, MLS, NASCAR, NBA, NFL, NHL, USGA, and USTA, to name some. The firm has also counseled college sports leagues on a variety of matters and advised both the pros and colleges on their broadcast contracts. The sports practice is multi-faceted, but Covington lawyers meet the challenge, handling everything from antitrust and collective bargaining to financings and insurance to media rights and regulatory affairs to sponsorships and tax—plus much more.

Giving Associates a Voice

At Covington, when associates speak, people listen. The firm’s Associate Advisory Committee includes both associates and partners and provides an outlet for associates to offer opinions on firm decisions. The firm also offers a confidential outlet for associates to request advice through the “associate ombudspersons.” The ombudsperson is a senior lawyer to whom associates can go for confidential advice.

News & Awards

NOTABLE CASES
  • Covington Women Lead on $60B in Deals in 2021
  • Supreme Court Preserves DACA: Represented the University of California Board of Regents pro bono in its efforts to protect DACA including wins at the Ninth Circuit and Supreme Court.
  • NFL Wins Big at Supreme Court: Represented the NFL in a landmark case where the court held that federal labor laws protected the NFL from antitrust actions brought by their players.
  • Win Ends Stop & Frisk in NYC: Represented a group of plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the NYPD over its stop-and-frisk policies and practices.
AWARDS & ACCOLADES

 

  • Firm of the Year, 2019-2022—Law360
  • #1 Ranked Firm on the Pro Bono Scorecard, 2019-2021—The American Lawyer
  • #1 Ranked Firm on Inaugural Social Impact Leaders, 2022—Law360
  • Dealmakers of the Year, 2022—The American Lawyer
  • Litigation Department of the Year, 2021—National Law Journal

Why Work Here

Working at Covington

Our distinctively collaborative culture allows us to be truly one team globally, drawing on the diverse experience of lawyers and advisors across the firm by seamlessly sharing insight and expertise. What sets us apart is our ability to combine the tremendous strength in our litigation, investigations, and corporate practices with deep knowledge of policy and policymakers, and one of the world’s leading regulatory practices. This enables us to create novel solutions to our clients’ toughest problems, successfully try their toughest cases, and deliver commercially practical advice of the highest quality.

Covington & Burling

One CityCenter
850 Tenth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: (202) 662-6000

Firm Stats

Chair, Management and Executive Committees: Doug Gibson
Hiring Partners: Ben Block, Ranga Sudarshan (DC); Neema Sahni, Ashley Simonsen (LA); Jack Bodner, Arlo Devlin-Brown, Clea Liquard, Micaela McMurrough, Jenna Wallace, Amy Wollensack (NY); Suzanne Bell, Kurt Calia (Palo Alto); Denny Kwon, Cortlin Lannin, Ingrid Rechtin, Doug Sprague (SF); Tim Stratford (Beijing); Daniel Cooper (Brussels); Rupert Harper (Dubai); Philipp Tamussino (Frankfurt); Ben Donovan (Johannesburg); Sarah Cowlishaw, Greg Lascelles, Daniel Pavin, Mark Young (London); William Park (Seoul); Eric C
Total No. Attorneys (2022):
1K - 1.5K
No. of Partners Named 2021:
15

Base Salary

Base Salary (2022) 1st year: $215,000 2nd year: $225,000 3rd year: $250,000 4th year: $295,000 5th year: $345,000 6th year: $370,000 7th year: $400,000 8th year: $415,000 Summer Associate: $4134/week

Employment Contact

California
Kelsey Donovan
Legal Recruiting and Professional Development Manager
(415) 591-6000
legalrecruitingca@cov.com
New York
Susan Shiliday
Senior Coordinator of Legal Recruitment & Personnel
(212) 841-1000
legal.recruitingny@cov.com
Washington, DC
Grace Seery
Manager of Legal Recruiting
(202) 662-6200
legal.recruiting@cov.com
Recruiting contacts for all offices may be found www.cov.com/en/careers/lawyers/

No. of U.S. Offices: 5

No. of International Offices: 8

Major Office Locations

Los Angeles, CA
New York, NY
San Francisco, CA
Palo Alto, CA
Washington, DC I Beijing
Brussels
Dubai
Frankfurt
Johannesburg
London
Seoul
Shanghai