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Anon because I’m going to Covington summer this and don’t want to out myself with my post history. While the firm seems great and I think I’ll enjoy my summer, I’m worried that I don’t see that many associates in their regulatory group working in financial services. That being said, what are the best shops in DC for financial regulatory work? There’s no chambers ranking for this, and I didn’t see much useful info searching TLS. Also, is NY much better for this type of work? I picked DC because I want to work in BigFed after my time at a firm, however it seems like DPW’s FIG group and other NY firms usually pop up when I search this field.

Anon because I used to work at a competitor and know some of the people at Covington fin reg. Covington is probably the best bank reg shop in dc right now. They have expanded over the past five years and have breadth into transactional and white collar and investigations. Traditionally dc bank reg competitors are Wilmer and Arnold and porter (and maybe Buckley). Other groups with good reputations in dc are Cleary, Debevoise, Sullivan and Skadden and to a lesser extent Davis Polk. The problem with most of the dc offices of New York firms is that they are an adjunct to the home base, tend to be smaller, and tend to originate less work. If you are interested in securities reg work I would put Wilmer on top. If you are interested in consumer financial regulatory services I would go with a speciality group like Buckley or Ballard spar.

Would’ve loved an offer at wilmer lol; maybe if I clerk I can try again if Covington isn’t to my liking

I think it is Wilmer then everyone else. But, unless you’re some mid-career law student, I wouldn’t really go into your SA with such a one-track mind at a place like Covington.

All things considered, DPW's FinReg practice (a/k/a FIG) is one of the very best, if not the best. The partners in FIG are split between NY and DC.