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Pro Bono
We believe that lawyers have an obligation to provide high quality legal services to those who do not have access to them. The firm is deeply supportive of the efforts of individual lawyers on behalf of the underserved; many of us have never spent a day at the firm without an active pro bono matter. Some of us have focused on pro bono matters almost exclusively for a period of time – for example, when involved in a death penalty trial, when forming a nonprofit corporation, when structuring debt-for-nature swaps in developing countries, or when working on an appellate brief and argument. If you are interested, you will have the opportunity to participate in the firm’s pro bono work.
The firm's pro bono program is directed by the firm's Pro Bono Counsel, and a team of Pro Bono Managers, , and Kathleen Kelly. They help lawyers find projects that best align with their interests. Individual lawyers, including many associates, often bring worthy projects to the attention of the firm.
Although we undertake high-profile cases, much of our pro bono work serves the poor. For over 40 years, we have offered our lawyers, administrative assistants, and paralegals the opportunity to do a six-month rotation with a community legal services organization. This began with Neighborhood Legal Services, and now now includes Bread for the City, and the Children’s Law Center. Over 225 Covington lawyers have participated in these six-month stints. The Washington office also works with the Maryland Office of the Public Defender pro bono program. This program allows Covington attorneys to represent criminal defendants in felony cases from shortly after presentment to the Grand Jury through disposition.
In 1996, Covington established a Child Welfare Initiative to benefit the children of the District of Columbia. This initiative includes the firm’s partnership with a DC public high school, Cardozo Senior High. As part of the partnership with Cardozo, firm employees conduct a Saturday Academy Program with weekly enrichment activities and coach juniors and seniors to compete in a citywide Mock Trial Competition organized through Street Law program. In 2010, Cardozo’s mock trial team went to the final round of the competition for the first time - the team landed a second place finish. The initiative also includes the Covington & Burling Public School Project, Inc., which funds efforts of DC public school teachers and staff to enrich their students' educational experience.
The firm's abiding commitment to pro bono work consistently ranks us among the leaders in the nation and has earned us many awards over the years from individual clients, legal services organizations, and the legal profession. The American Lawyer magazine’s annual ranking of law firm pro bono work has placed Covington among the top three firms for 15 of the past 19 years. Covington has received the American Bar Association's Pro Bono Publico Award, the ABA Litigation Section's John Minor Wisdom Award, the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year Award, and a special award from the D.C. Bar for 20 Years of Outstanding Pro Bono Service. Recent awards include:
- The D.C. Circuit Judicial Conference has recognized the firm at its "40 at 50 breakfast" for the eighth consecutive year. This year, 53.3% of the firm's DC attorneys reported 50 or more pro bono hours.
- Covington lawyers were the recipients of The Legal Aid Society of New York’s 2009 Pro Bono Publico Awards for Outstanding Service.
- The United States District Court for the District of Columbia awarded the firm with the Daniel M. Gribbon Pro Bono Advocacy Award, for our “extraordinary pro bono service, far beyond the call of duty, in the Beale v. District of Columbia, et al matter.” The firm was nominated by Phil Fornaci of the Washington Lawyers' Committee Prisoners’ Rights Project.
- The Washington Lawyers Committee gave Covington its Outstanding Achievement Award for its work with the Prisoners’ Right Project.
- The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence named Covington to the Center’s Honor Role of its Legal Action Project.
- DC Appleseed awarded Covington for our work ensuring that the nonprofit CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, the largest health insurance company in the mid-Atlantic region, meets its obligation to the public as a charitable and benevolent non-profit organization.
Our pro bono work immerses our lawyers in many controversial, interesting, and important public policy issues, and it reflects the fact that we are a firm of diverse viewpoints. We believe that all views, even of the most controversial issues, are entitled to high quality legal representation.
Please click here to view an electronic copy of the firm’s annual Public Service and Pro Bono Report, which summarizes all of its active pro bono projects.
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