Covington & Burling LLP
Covington & Burling counts approximately 1,311 attorneys in 15 offices. Founded in Washington, DC in 1919.
3L / Entry-Level · Class of 2027Open
Entry-Level Corporate Associate
Washington, DC
Opens
Opened Oct 13Deadline
Feb 11, 2027
1L Summer 2027 · Class of 2029Opening Soon
New York, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Palo Alto, Boston
Opens
Not announced (last cycle Nov 3, 2025)Deadline
Not announced
2L Summer 2028 · Class of 2029Opening Soon
New York, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Palo Alto, Boston
Opens
Not announced (last cycle Dec 1, 2025)Deadline
Not announced
No 1L summer program on the firm’s page. Today’s 1Ls (Class of 2029) apply for the 2L Summer 2028.
About Covington & Burling
Covington & Burling advises clients on legal and public-policy matters. The firm's international practice addresses business issues involving law and government policy.
Rankings
Latest published editions. Each links to its source.
Size and Standing
- $2.1B gross revenueAm Law 100, $2.1B gross revenue: #30 (opens in a new tab)
- Lawyers in 8 countriesGlobal 200, Lawyers in 8 countries: #36 (opens in a new tab)
- 1,311 attorneysNLJ 500, 1,311 attorneys: #31 (opens in a new tab)
- PrestigeVault Law 100, Prestige: #12 (opens in a new tab)
Associate Life
- Score 85The A-List, Score 85: #9 (opens in a new tab)
- Score 4.09 of 5Midlevel Associates Survey, Score 4.09 of 5: #44 (opens in a new tab)
- Best city resultMidlevel Survey, Los Angeles, Best city result: #1 (opens in a new tab)
- VaultPro Bono, Vault: #7 (opens in a new tab)
- VaultMost Selective Law Firms, Vault: #12 (opens in a new tab)
Vault Practice Rankings
- Government Relations: #1 (opens in a new tab)
- White Collar Defense & Internal Investigations: #1 (opens in a new tab)
- Life Sciences: #2 (opens in a new tab)
- International Practice: #3 (opens in a new tab)
- Health Care: #5 (opens in a new tab)
- Media, Entertainment, & Sports: #6 (opens in a new tab)
- Privacy & Data Security: #6 (opens in a new tab)
- Products Liability: #8 (opens in a new tab)
Show All 17
- Antitrust: #9 (opens in a new tab)
- Appellate Litigation: #10 (opens in a new tab)
- General Commercial Litigation: #12 (opens in a new tab)
- Securities Litigation: #12 (opens in a new tab)
- Environmental Law: #15 (opens in a new tab)
- Emerging Companies & Venture Capital: #17 (opens in a new tab)
- Intellectual Property: #17 (opens in a new tab)
- Securities/Capital Markets: #17 (opens in a new tab)
- Tax Law: #18 (opens in a new tab)
Practice strength by market
Every band below appears on this firm’s Chambers USA 2026 profile, checked September 26, 2026. Where Chambers splits a table into The Elite and Highly Regarded, every Elite firm ranks above every Highly Regarded firm.
Scroll sideways to see recognition.
| Practice | Market | Recognition |
|---|---|---|
Corporate Crime & InvestigationsThe Elite | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Corporate/M&A: Deals in Asia | California | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
False Claims Act | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Financial Services Regulation: Consumer Finance (Enforcement & Investigations) | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Food & Beverages: Regulatory & Litigation | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Government ContractsThe Elite | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Government Relations: Congressional Investigations | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Healthcare: Pharmaceutical/Medical Products Regulatory | District of Columbia | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Policyholder | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Insurance: Policyholder | California | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Insurance: Policyholder | District of Columbia | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Intellectual Property: Litigation | District of Columbia | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
International Trade: CFIUS Experts | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
International Trade: Export Controls & Economic SanctionsThe Elite | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Life Sciences | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Life Sciences: Regulatory/Compliance | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Litigation: General CommercialThe Elite | District of Columbia | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations | District of Columbia | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
National Security | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Political Law | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Privacy & Data SecurityThe Elite | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Product Liability & Mass TortsThe Elite | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Sports Law | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Telecom, Broadcast & Satellite | District of Columbia | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Antitrust | District of Columbia | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Artificial Intelligence | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Climate Change | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Corporate/M&A & Private Equity | District of Columbia | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
E-Discovery & Information Governance | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation | District of Columbia | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
FCPA | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Financial Services Regulation: Banking (Enforcement & Investigations) | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Government Relations: Federal | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Policyholder | New York | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
International Trade: Intellectual Property (Section 337) | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Life Sciences | Massachusetts | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Life Sciences: Corporate/Commercial | California | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations | California | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government InvestigationsThe Elite | New York | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Privacy & Data Security: Healthcare | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Securities: Regulation: Advisory | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Tax | District of Columbia | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Transportation: Rail (for Railroads) | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Antitrust | California | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Antitrust | Nationwide | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation | Nationwide | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Financial Services Regulation: Banking (Compliance) | Nationwide | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Financial Services Regulation: Financial Institutions M&A | Nationwide | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Gaming & Licensing | Nationwide | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
International ArbitrationThe Elite | Nationwide | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
International Trade: Trade Remedies & Trade Policy | Nationwide | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Litigation: General CommercialThe Elite | California | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Litigation: General CommercialThe Elite | Nationwide | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Media & Entertainment: Regulatory | District of Columbia | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Technology | California | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Technology | New York | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Capital Markets: Equity: Issuer Counsel | Nationwide | Chambers Band4 Reported year: 2026 |
Environment | District of Columbia | Chambers Band4 Reported year: 2026 |
Financial Services Regulation: Consumer Finance (Litigation) | Nationwide | Chambers Band4 Reported year: 2026 |
Intellectual Property | Nationwide | Chambers Band4 Reported year: 2026 |
Intellectual Property: Patent Litigation | California | Chambers Band4 Reported year: 2026 |
Outsourcing | New York | Chambers Band4 Reported year: 2026 |
Securities: Regulation: Enforcement | Nationwide | Chambers Band4 Reported year: 2026 |
Tax: Corporate & Finance | Nationwide | Chambers Band4 Reported year: 2026 |
Technology | Nationwide | Chambers Band4 Reported year: 2026 |
Tax: Controversy | Nationwide | Chambers Band5 Reported year: 2026 |
Corporate/M&AHighly Regarded | California: San Francisco, Silicon Valley & Surrounds | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Corporate/M&AHighly Regarded | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Corporate/M&AHighly Regarded | New York | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
69 reported ranking rows
Facts verified by BigLaw Bear, narrative by the firm. Figures carry a source link where we hold one; prose is Covington & Burling’s own.
Firm highlights
Summer program
Program features
- Summer pay
- $225,000Announced by the firm (Oct 2026)Source
- Total summer associates
- 118Reporting year not confirmedSource
- Program length
- 10 weeksSource
- Early interviewing
- Yes2L applications go through Covington's applicant portal (one application per office) or a school-sponsored interview program in January and February. Interviews run on a rolling basis through the winter and no offer is extended without a final first-semester transcript. 2027 2L applications are closed; 2028 timing is to be posted.Source
- 1L applications
- Not mentioned by the firmSource
- Recruiting contact
- Grace SeeryDirector of Legal Recruiting (Washington and Boston)
Practice areas
Covington calls its assignment system the centerpiece of the summer. The firm says it "carefully match[es] assignments with each summer associate's interests" and, because its practice groups are informal and flexible, summers "explore a variety of substantive assignments in diverse practice groups." Assignments are tailored as a summer's interests evolve, and each summer has a senior and a junior mentor.
Inclusion
Covington's Firm Resource Groups are open to all colleagues, lawyers and business professionals, and focus on the workplace experience of people who share a background, identity or interest. The firm also runs a Women's Forum and has earned a top score in the HRC Foundation's Corporate Equality Index for 17 consecutive years.
Pro bono
- Average hours per attorney
- 182 hoursAm Law pro bono rank #2Source
How pro bono work is assigned
Covington says it regards pro bono service as a professional obligation. In 2025, 97 percent of its lawyers volunteered on pro bono matters. The firm has met the D.C. Circuit Judicial Conference's 40 at 50 benchmark (at least 40 percent of attorneys doing 50 or more pro bono hours) every year since 2003, and The American Lawyer has ranked its pro bono practice number one twelve times.
More about Covington & Burling
Covington runs three 1L summer programs: Patent Litigation (Los Angeles, New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco and Washington), Life Sciences (Boston) and Life Sciences Transactions (Washington). The 2L program runs in Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco and Washington. Applicants submit a cover letter, resume, undergraduate transcript, writing sample and references, one application per office.
Upcoming Events from Covington & Burling LLP
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Schools Covington & Burling Hires From
5 schools name Covington & Burling on its own employer or placement pages. These lists are not exhaustive.