Covington & Burling

Coving ready or not! Regulatory specialists Covington & Burling offers the perfect platform to “build your own personal profile” in tech and life sciences.

Covington & Burling training contract review 2026

About the firm

“We're a firm that has regulatory work at the core, within its DNA,” graduate recruitment partner David Berman tells us, “and that’s very unusual for a law firm.” Of course, that’s not to say there’s not plenty of transactional expertise: “Our transactional and disputes practices are, of course, vibrant and important in their own right; both benefit hugely from the firm’s regulatory expertise that is a differentiator for us across the board.”

While Covington historically has been, and continues to be, seen as a life sciences and technology specialist, the US firm’s London base continues to expand its offering. In the last few years, this has meant the addition of a financial services department and an expanded private equity team: “That provides extra seat choices for our trainees and potential future qualification routes for our associates,” explains training principal Sarah Cowlishaw. Speaking of alternative seat options, the firm also offers one in business & human rights to cover new developments in legislation, especially at the EU level.

“…seniors to secretaries, everyone knows your name.”

Covington boasts top-tier rankings in Chambers UK for both life sciences transactions and life sciences regulatory, as well as parliamentary & public affairs. The firm also ranks highly in data protection & information law, venture capital investment, product liability and sanctions nationwide. Like a lot of US firms operating in the UK, the trainee headcount is relatively small, but that comes with its own perks.

According to Berman: “It's easy to build your own personal profile here.” This rang true in our trainee interviews, where we heard that “seniors to secretaries, everyone knows your name. Everyone is very personable.” With just eight or nine new trainees per year, there’s a fair amount of flexibility around seats, and some flexibility within departments to cater to their interests.

Training Contract Structure

The majority of our interviewees felt they had a good amount of say over where they sat during their training contract. Trainees have to do at least one corporate and one disputes seat, “but you have quite a few options for the specific seats you do within those.” Before they start, trainees rank all the available seats in order of preference and can update their list during their regular check-ins with HR throughout their training contract.

Through the same process, trainees can apply for client secondments in London and international secondments in the Brussels and Dubai offices. The Brussels position is a seat in competition, whereas the Dubai seat is a mix of project finance, corporate, arbitration and white-collar crime: “You are the trainee for that office, and your work depends on business need.” In recent years, client secondments have included a pro bono secondment to the charity Reprieve.

Seat Experiences

Trainee Life

“I would describe a lot of lawyers here as friendly nerds. They’re so besotted with their area of the law, and it really shines through,” one trainee told us when asked to describe the firm’s culture. This means that “as a trainee, working for someone who loves what they’re doing, and loves their clients, it really boosts your motivation to help them.” While people are “generally heads down working,” everyone is also generally “up to literally just stop what they’re doing, chinwag with you, and see how you are.”

We heard that Covington isn’t the kind of firm where everyone heads down to the pub every Thursday evening (although there are some who do). It’s more common for people find a way to fit a bit of social time into the workday. For example, there’s a free lunch on Wednesdays which brings people together for a chat over a meal. The firm organises regular trainee socials and events to welcome new staff to the firm.

There are also a couple of social clubs, such as a book club and padel. Trainees can join the various diversity “strands,” groups which organise events for occasions like International Women’s Day and external trips, such as a recent excursion to the BFI Flare film festival. Pro bono is “quite a big deal here.” Opportunities cover a wide range of areas, including immigration, Amicus death penalty appeals and “lots of projects that are more practice group-specific,” such as helping charities with employment or privacy law.

“I would definitely put money on it being one of the nicest law firm offices in London!”

By virtue of being located on the highest floors of the tallest tower in the City, “the main selling point of our office is the view,” one told us, withthe panorama including sites like Hyde Park, St Paul’s and the Shard: “I would definitely put money on it being one of the nicest law firm offices in London!” Covington recently upped required office days from three to four per week. Given that the office location means “sometimes it feels like I’m in a movie scene,” trainees weren’t too upset.

What about working hours? “When you do more regulatory seats, things tend to be more balanced than if you do a corporate or finance seat,” one source explained, meaning more frequent early evening finishes and fewer late nights. There’s “no expectation to be in the office really late,” and trainees are sometimes able to go home and log back on there if they need.

For some trainees, “the expectation to be always accessible isn’t something I expected.” But we also heard that “I’ve probably enjoyed some of the busiest periods the most because that’s when you’re really stuck in, and feel part of the team.” Most trainees were happy with their compensation: “I think 60k is good for a trainee and obviously the NQ salary is high.”

In each seat, every trainee will have two supervisors (except in very small departments where they will have one),usually one partner and one senior associate or counsel: “I think it’s quite a good approach because if they do slightly different things, you’re more likely to get a good mix in the things you do as a trainee as well,” one insider told us.

How closely trainees work with their supervisors varies based on the seat, but in smaller departments the work is predominantly with the supervisor. They share an office with one of these supervisors, so it’s “easy to ask questions when there’s someone beside you. You feel like they’re a good go-to for the silly questions.”

There’s a “formal air to the reviews,” as we heard the firm “takes themseriously. People here view feedback as a useful tool for improvement.” The idea here is that providing “concrete examples” of what trainees did well is the best way to improve. But don’t let that be intimidating, as feedback is always “positive and constructive.”

“Training is very much hands on. It’s a case of getting experience doing the job,” one told us.It was something that trainees enjoyed too, “because I feel more productive learning on the job.” That said, some departments, such as disputes, put on a formal training programme for their trainees: “They really train you up to be a good writer” through letting trainees get stuck into drafting early on in their career.

Qualification

Second-years described the qualification process as “smooth” and told us that they “felt very well supported throughout the process.” In early April, the firm releases a jobs list, where trainees then list one or two preferences. In 2025, “everyone got their first choice, so everyone is happy.”

In years where there’s competition for one position, the firm conducts interviews: “Where at all possible we don't want to lose people and we will look for pragmatic opportunities to retain,” explains Berman. In 2025, the firm retained a full house of qualifiers.