Covington & Burling LLP operates as a limited liability partnership worldwide, with the practice in England and Wales conducted by an affiliated limited liability multinational partnership, Covington & Burling LLP, which is formed under the laws of the State of Delaware in the United States and authorized and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority with registration number 77071..
We anticipate that 1L applications for Summer 2026 will open on November 1, 2025. Please check back for a link to our applicant portal.
LCLD: We partner with the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) to hire 1L summer associates. The 1L Scholars Program gives law students the opportunity to work side-by-side with attorneys from Covington and a partnering client in select offices. This position is available in our Los Angeles, New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco, and Washington Offices.
Patent Litigation: Our 1L Patent Litigation Summer Program offers aspiring patent litigators the opportunity to receive in-depth training and tailored mentoring from lawyers in our award-winning Patent Litigation practice. This position is available in our Los Angeles, Palo Alto, New York, San Francisco, and Washington Offices.
Life Sciences: Our 1L Life Sciences Summer Program offers interested law students the opportunity to work with our lawyers on a broad and exciting range of matters in the life sciences industry. This position is available in our Boston office.
Life Sciences Transactions: Our 1L Life Sciences Transactions Summer Program offers interested law students the opportunity to work with our lawyers on a broad and exciting range of transactional matters in the life sciences industry. This position is available in our Washington office.
We anticipate that 2L applications for Summer 2027 will open in 2026. Please check back for timing updates and a link to our applicant portal. Sign up to be notified when 2027 2L applications open.
The firm conducts interviews with law students through various law school-sponsored interview programs and job fairs. In addition, candidates may submit direct applications via our applicant portal. We encourage current law students to submit a cover letter, resume, current law school transcript, legal writing sample, and list of references. If you wish to apply to more than one office, please submit a separate application for each location. You can learn more about our reference policy in the FAQs.
At Covington, we strive to maintain the highest standards of integrity to ensure the commercial success and reputation of our firm. One means by which we do this is through conducting routine background checks, which is a requirement of joining Covington. The standard pre-employment background checks we may conduct on prospective partners, lawyers, and employees include checks relating to public social media presence, criminal records, education, and employment history. Additional checks may be undertaken appropriate to the requirements of the role. All background checks are conducted in accordance with applicable local laws.