Accolades

• The American Lawyer - Ranked Covington No.2 in its annual pro bono survey (2008) (Covington has been ranked No. 1 for nine out of the last seventeen years).
• Archdiocesan Legal Network - John Carroll Society award (2008)
• The D.C. Circuit Judicial Conference recognized the firm at its “40 at 50 Breakfast” (53.3% of attorneys reported 50 or more pro bono hours) (2008).
• United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims - Hart T. Mankin Distinguished Service Award.  Presented to James C. McKay for his "outstanding legal representation of our Nation's veterans; his tireless dedication to veterans' rights; and his significant contributions to the efforts that resulted in the enactment of legislation that provides veterans full legal representation at all levels when pursuing their benefits under law" (4/14/08).
• Washington Lawyers’ Committee/Wiley Branton Luncheon – Wiley Branton Award given to Tom Williamson and the firm was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award in Public Accommodations (6/14/2007).  
• National Legal Aid & Defender Association - “Beacon of Justice” award to Covington and other firms for Guantanamo detainees work (6/12/2007).
• Archdiocesan Legal Network - Cardinal James A. Hickey Award (6/7/2007).
• The Mississippi Center for Justice - Award for “Advancing Recovery and Ensuring Fairness in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina” (6/7/2007)
• DC Appleseed – Covington honored at "A New Day for D.C." Awards Dinner (5/17/2007).

Recent Highlights

Asylum & Immigration

• On December 5, 2006, the Supreme Court handed down a favorable decision in Lopez v. Gonzales, a significant immigration case in which the firm represented the petitioner, Jose Antonio Lopez.  The Court's opinion was written by Justice Souter and joined by every Justice except Justice Thomas.  The decision holds that state drug convictions do not count as "aggravated felonies" for purposes of federal immigration law unless the offense is punishable as a felony under the federal drug laws.  The "aggravated felony" label is significant because conviction of an aggravated felony renders an immigrant ineligible for withholding of deportation, asylum, or US citizenship (and has other adverse consequences).  The Court's decision reversed the lower court's ruling that Mr. Lopez's conviction on a simple drug possession charge was an "aggravated felony" for immigration purposes.

• The firm prepared an amicus brief on behalf of a number of social scientists in the Cook v. Rumsfeld case challenging the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
   
• In a Third Circuit appointment, the firm represented three white former police officers who sued Philadelphia under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act alleging that they had suffered adverse employment actions in retaliation for their complaints about their supervisors' racially discriminatory treatment of African-American officers in their unit.  The Third Circuit ruled in our client’s favor reversing the district court’s grant of summary judgment against our clients and remanding the case for trial.

• For several years, lawyers from the firm worked closely with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in its efforts to reform Virginia's worst-in-the-nation indigent defense system, the most notorious aspect of which were the extremely low, nonwaivable caps on fees paid to appointed counsel.  Recently, we achieved a significant victory -- the passage by the General Assembly of landmark legislation permitting waiver of the caps in all felony cases and providing significant additional funding.  This result is due in part to Covington's commitment to this issue: the firm initiated and supported the statewide study that documented the pernicious effects of the caps; worked on the legislative and PR campaign to build the case for reform; and prepared the class action lawsuit that ultimately persuaded Virginia's Republican Attorney General to join with Governor Kaine in pushing through the reforms recently enacted.
   
• Lawyers in the firm’s San Francisco office are working with The California Habeas Project, an organization dedicated to freeing survivors of domestic violence imprisoned for crimes arising out of the abuse that they suffered.
   
• Lawyers in the firm’s New York office are representing a woman who is incarcerated in New York State.  She was convicted of murder in connection with a crime spree undertaken by her abusive husband in which she was coerced to participate.  We are seeking post-conviction relief based on trial counsel's failure to present a duress defense and the irreconcilably inconsistent factual theories of the case that the prosecutor presented at the separate trials of our client and her husband.
   
• In a trial collaboration between Covington and our pro bono partner, The Bronx Defenders, a team led by two Bronx Defenders lawyers and an associate in our New York office won a complete acquittal for an indigent defendant charged with attempted murder, two counts of first-degree assault, second and third degree assault, and criminal possession of a weapon.  After a two-week trial in Bronx County Supreme Court, the jury found the client not guilty on all charges.  Our client, who had been incarcerated since February 2005 while awaiting trial, was immediately released from custody to his waiting family.
   
• The firm’s collaboration with the Marin County Public Defenders office led to a two-day trial in Marin County Superior Court and ended with a "not guilty" verdict for our client who had been charged with possession of a controlled substance found in a truck he was test driving.  Our associate demonstrated to the jury’s satisfaction that police officer testimony at trial was inconsistent with earlier testimony at a suppression hearing and with the police report.