2024 DIVERSITY DATABASE UNDERWRITER Covington & Burling

• “I was assigned substantive research and writing tasks that litigation teams actively needed for their management of their cases. These included a detailed pre-trial brief analysis, a demand letter assessment, and memoranda answering case law research questions. I attended the firm's summer associate multiday depositions training. I received substantive constructive feedback both while I was working on assignments and during summer associate review sessions with senior attorneys.”
• “Assignments were generally low-pressure but still relatively substantive. I mostly got the sense that summers completed important tasks that were less urgent and had been on the back burner for a while. The firm was extremely receptive to my desire to explore lots of different practice areas.”
• “On the transactional side, the work is fairly substantive. Every five or so summers have an assignment coordinator, who is the source of most of the work you'll get and is fairly involved in making sure you do things you're interested in. I did a wide range of matters and would say the work is analogous to first-year work product just on a gentler timetable.”
• “I was assigned actual substantive assignments that first-year associates would be expected to complete. There were also various shadowing and mentoring programs, both formal and informal ones. I was particularly interested in the Lawyer in Action programs that allowed me to see what attorneys in various practice groups do in their day-to-day.”

• “Covington has a huge class, which makes it easy to find like-minded people. While our social events were not as extravagant as some other firms, there was plenty of fun stuff to attend.”
• “There is usually one larger summer social event each week, such as a mini golf, a boat tour, a night out at a baseball game, etc. There are also a variety of smaller social opportunities with specific practice groups or subsets of attorneys. The social events are optional but encouraged so that you can get to know attorneys throughout the firm. One of my favorite activities as a summer was the weekly firm softball league (with dinner provided afterwards). The friends I made as a summer associate remain my friends to this day, and we frequently grab coffee or lunch around the firm.”
• “We had fun weekly social events without going overboard. Our associate class of about 30 got to know each other very well and got along. We went to a Broadway show, did a paint-and-sip, and attended a Yankees game.”
• “Firm attorneys are very welcoming, offering to take summers to lunch or get coffee throughout the summer program. Mentorship from one associate and one senior lawyer helped give a broad range of advice. Really strong. Summer events on Thursdays.”

• “I was pleasantly surprised by the firm's attitude towards choosing a practice area. As long as associates stay busy and generally stay on track for their hourly targets, there is wide latitude to pursue the kind of work you're interested in. The only caveat is that the work must actually be available, and sometimes that is a waiting game.”
• “I have had a positive experience returning as a first-year associate; as I mentioned above, I have continued to work with the same attorneys and on similar matters as I did as a summer. As a summer, I had more say in choosing assignments I was interested in, while as a first year, I am now part of a big pool of juniors, and my staffing attorneys are not able to personalize my assignments as much; however, I would say that this was expected.”
• “The work is far more substantive as an associate, which I appreciate. There are fewer opportunities to socialize than in the summer program, but if you make an effort to gather with people, everyone is still nice and generally open to getting together.”
• “I enjoy the work I get to do and appreciate having more strategic context for it as a full-time associate. The summer experience is inherently limited but not misleading.”

Through our summer associate program, we provide a select group of law students from around the country the opportunity to participate actively in a broad and exciting range of legal matters. Summer associates are immersed into our practice and exposed to Covington’s enduring cultural values—the values that shape our delivery of the highest quality service to our clients and our service to the public interest—through extensive dynamic and precedent-setting pro bono legal work.