Litigator of the Week Runners-Up: Covington Recognized for Pro Bono Win at California Supreme Court

A Covington team led by senior counsel Sonya Winner earned a Litigator of the Week runner-up mention in AmLaw Litigation Daily for a major pro bono win challenging California's ban on electronically recording court proceedings.

The California Supreme Court issued a writ of mandate directing the state’s trial courts to provide indigent civil litigants with meaningful access to electronic recordings in instances where there aren’t enough available court reporters to staff courtrooms. Writing for a unanimous court, Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero held that “where a litigant requests the creation of an official verbatim record and establishes an inability to pay for a private court reporter, a superior court has a duty to provide some way for the litigant to obtain an official verbatim record, including by electronic recording if an official reporter is unavailable.”

Covington and co-counsel Community Legal Aid SoCal filed an original writ petition directly in the California Supreme Court in 2024 on behalf of the Family Violence Appellate Project, alongside co-petitioner Bay Area Legal Aid. In addition to Sonya Winner, the Covington team included Ellen Choi, Bryanna Walker, and Sarah O’Farrell .