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I've heard generally good things about Covington DC, especially for regulatory work (which is what I'm interested in practicing), but I've also had some folks tell me that Covington is living on "past glory" and that its reputation is somewhat in decline. Is this true for its DC office? And is it something to be concerned about?

Anonymous User wrote:I've also had some folks tell me that Covington is living on "past glory" and that its reputation is somewhat in decline. Is this true for its DC office? And is it something to be concerned about?

Completely untrue. Cov is still one of the tip-top regulatory shops in DC (and in the country). No sign that Cov has declined.

Congrats on your offer!

I think any reputational issues have to do with the firm's reputation among law students and young lawyers who remember Covington's attempt to stop the DC market from moving to $180k a couple years ago. As far as I can tell, it hasn't lost its shine in DC (or nationally). Based on their response to the latest move in the market, I wouldn't be concerned. It looks like they learned their lesson.

Stuffy culture. Oppressive facetime requirements. Good reputation though.

Anonymous User wrote:Stuffy culture. Oppressive facetime requirements. Good reputation though.

I summered there a few years ago and know a number of current associates including some friends. Take the quoted with a big grain of salt. Facetime requirements are not firmwide but practice group and partner specific. My impression from the summer was that most of the associates near my office got in between 9-10 and left between 6-7. My understanding is that parts of the litigation group (and the international arbitration group) could be demanding in terms of being there, but that the regulatory practices tend to be much more humane. None of my friends who work there have ever complained about facetime requirements.

In terms of culture, I wouldn't describe it as stuffy, though I can appreciate that some people might think that. It's not Latham. There are a lot of friendly, outgoing people, but there's a more pronounced streak of nerdiness/being reserved than most firms. For what it's worth, the culture is well known for being this way, and no, it's not for everybody.

I always get a kick out of how far people are willing to go to avoid eye contact in the hallways.

OP here. Thanks for all the feedback! Glad to hear it's still well-received. I definitely get that the social culture is different, but as one of the above posters said, that's one of the things that drew me there. I spent last summer at a V10 that was very much a work hard/play-hard-with-folks-at-work place and it wasn't really for me.