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Pro Bono July 9, 2025

Covington Ranks Second Among All U.S. Law Firms in The American Lawyer’s Pro Bono Scorecard

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Pro Bono November 15, 2023

Covington Wins Tony Mauro Media Lawyer Award from The American Lawyer

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News September 26, 2023

Covington Named Winner at the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards 2023

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Pro Bono October 19, 2023

Covington Named Western Center on Law & Poverty Max Gillam Pro Bono Award Recipient

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News January 12, 2023

CJEU Recognizes Rights of Self-Employed LGBTIQ+ Persons in Landmark Judgment

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  • Pro Bono

Pro Bono

Since its founding, Covington has demonstrated a strong commitment to public service.

The firm is frequently recognized for pro bono service, including 12 times being ranked the number one pro bono practice in the U.S. by The American Lawyer. Much of our pro bono work is anchored in meeting local needs, serving economically disadvantaged individuals and families in our surrounding communities, but the firm also has a long history of serving vulnerable clients and important causes throughout the U.S. and the world.



12 Years as #1

on The American Lawyer Pro Bono Scorecard

Anchored in Service

"We regard pro bono service as a professional obligation—with the privilege we all have as lawyers comes a responsibility to give back."

—Doug Gibson, Partner and Firm Chair

Changing Lives

"Pro bono cases are the saving grace for people who would otherwise not have a chance."

—Brian Ferguson, pro bono client

Committed to Excellence

"The firm goes to the mat for its pro bono clients."

—Covington Associate

Powered by Volunteers

In 2024, 98% of our lawyers volunteered their time to work on a diverse range of pro bono matters.

 

News and Insights

Accolades

    • The American Lawyer magazine has ranked Covington's pro bono practice among the nation’s top ten for 31 of the past 34 years, including twelve years at number one.
    • Since 2003, the D.C. Circuit Judicial Conference has recognized those firms where at least 40% of the attorneys perform 50 or more pro bono hours during the previous year. Covington has achieved this so-called “40 at 50” benchmark each year. In 2022, the firm also received the D.C. Circuit Judicial Conference's Daniel M. Gribbon Pro Bono Advocacy Award for our extraordinary pro bono service in Vote Forward v. DeJoy, a voting rights suit that challenged the implementation of U.S. Postal Service policies that resulted in widespread mail delivery delays leading up to the 2020 general election.
    • The firm was ranked in the top 10 for pro bono of all firms in the United Kingdom by Law.com International. In the most recent year, more than 93% of lawyers in our London office undertook a pro bono matter.
    • The firm received The American Lawyer's Tony Mauro Media Lawyer Award in 2023, which honors attorneys who zealously advocate for freedom of the press. The award recognized the firm's Kurt Wimmer Media Freedom Pro Bono Initiative, through which the firm undertakes a broad range of pro bono matters aimed at protecting and advancing media freedom and the safety of journalists, and advising nonprofit newsrooms on media law and operational issues.
    • The Financial Times has named the firm a winner of its Innovative Lawyers Awards Europe 2023 for its pro bono representation of Ukraine in a case before the International Court of Justice arising from Russia's invasion.
    • Law360 has honored Covington as a Pro Bono Firm of the Year for our work on a range of issues, including securing the release of Guantanamo Bay detainees, defending civil rights and combatting racial profiling, reforming the criminal justice system, and representing prisoners on death row.

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