Insight into Covington LA? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone have insight into Covington LA? Culture, origination of work, exit opportunities, etc. Litigation focus.

Thank you!

[Anonymous User]

I used to work for Covington NY, and interacted with the LA office occasionally for deal work. I was on the corporate side so I honestly don't have an impression of most of the litigators outside Neema Sahni (who was great). It's a very lit-heavy office minus a specific media/broadcast-focused corporate team.

Sorry I don't have more specifics beyond one lit partner being solid. There's plenty of work that originates from that office, though, it's definitely not a simple satellite or anything close.

[Anonymous User]

Spoke with them and got a very elitist vibe. I'm sure they have some decent people but my overall impression is they think they're better than how they actually perform in the market and have a snobby attitude about it.

[Anonymous User]

Spoke with them and got a very elitist vibe. I'm sure they have some decent people but my overall impression is they think they're better than how they actually perform in the market and have a snobby attitude about it.

That’s literally every Covington office

[Anonymous User]

Thanks all for the insight, for anyone who works at any Covington office, how often are satellites collaborating and such?

[Anonymous User]

Thanks all for the insight, for anyone who works at any Covington office, how often are satellites collaborating and such?

Cov DC associate here. There's a ton of cross-office collaboration. Litigation matters tend to be led out of the office where the client/suit is based, but it depends on the matter and relationship partner. I've been staffed on matters working with associates and partners in NY, SF, and LA.

And no clue where the other two posters are getting those impressions. The general firm vibe is quiet, nerdy types.

I tend to think we're a little weaker in litigation than some other shops, but it's a strong practice group. White collar and regulatory groups are really the strongest parts of the firm.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks all for the insight, for anyone who works at any Covington office, how often are satellites collaborating and such?

Cov DC associate here. There's a ton of cross-office collaboration. Litigation matters tend to be led out of the office where the client/suit is based, but it depends on the matter and relationship partner. I've been staffed on matters working with associates and partners in NY, SF, and LA.

And no clue where the other two posters are getting those impressions. The general firm vibe is quiet, nerdy types.

I tend to think we're a little weaker in litigation than some other shops, but it's a strong practice group. White collar and regulatory groups are really the strongest parts of the firm.

Not OP but I had a few questions about Cov LA out of curiosity. How is the LA office (or any non-DC office) viewed within the Cov network of offices? Is it a "everything goes back to the mothership" type situation or is it a "every office originates a significant amount of work and is independent" situation? What are the drawbacks of going to a satellite office for Cov?

And another question: why do you think the litigation is weak at Covington? My understanding is that their white collar/regulatory group is dominant, but how far behind are their lit practices?

[Anonymous User]

Thanks all for the insight, for anyone who works at any Covington office, how often are satellites collaborating and such?

Cov DC associate here. There's a ton of cross-office collaboration. Litigation matters tend to be led out of the office where the client/suit is based, but it depends on the matter and relationship partner. I've been staffed on matters working with associates and partners in NY, SF, and LA.

And no clue where the other two posters are getting those impressions. The general firm vibe is quiet, nerdy types.

I tend to think we're a little weaker in litigation than some other shops, but it's a strong practice group. White collar and regulatory groups are really the strongest parts of the firm.

Not OP but I had a few questions about Cov LA out of curiosity. How is the LA office (or any non-DC office) viewed within the Cov network of offices? Is it a "everything goes back to the mothership" type situation or is it a "every office originates a significant amount of work and is independent" situation? What are the drawbacks of going to a satellite office for Cov?

And another question: why do you think the litigation is weak at Covington? My understanding is that their white collar/regulatory group is dominant, but how far behind are their lit practices?

(Quoted Anon)

DC is definitely the "mothership" office, but other offices generate a ton of work. I wouldn't say either of your models really applies though. The offices aren't run as independent fiefdoms, and DC doesn't dictate all the work being done. There are a lot of matters with inter-office teams, and the company line about collaborating across different groups and offices really has been true (at least in my experience). I guess the main drawbacks of going to one of the West Coast offices would be that the majority of the firm operates on Eastern Time, so I think it can be annoying for associates in those offices to wake up to dozens of emails at the start of their day. And our regulatory practices are pretty much all based in DC, so if you have a specific substantive interest in one of those, I don't think it would make sense to go to a satellite.

And I should clarify: I don't think we have a weak litigation group. We're just not in the same band as some of our peer firms for general commercial lit.