Seth Safra, Partner, Covington & Burling, 40
Job: I'm in Covington’s employee benefits and executive compensation practice, advising employers on tax and ERISA compliance issues. I help people make decisions, manage risks and complete deals, with a sprinkling of advocacy when clients have disputes or wish to influence policy. I also serve as the vice-chair of our practice group and one of the co-chairs of Covington’s summer program.
Community involvement: Recently completed a term as chair of the employee benefits committee of the DC Bar’s tax section.
Career highlights: There have been good results along the way, including a unanimous Supreme Court decision in our client’s favor and getting the IRS to reverse a position that would have cost our client a lot of money—but nothing as gratifying as being part of strong teams.
Why this career: I decided in 1996, when I was interning for an architecture/engineering firm that was involved in disputes related to the construction of Atlanta’s Olympic Stadium. At the time, I thought I would go back to Atlanta and practice construction law, but then law school exposed me to a bunch of new interesting things. I like digging into complicated issues and finding practical solutions to tough problems. I’ve stayed at Covington because of the variety of challenges and opportunities that come from the firm’s broad practice.
Where you grew up: Atlanta
Why DC: My wife and I decided to move here after law school because it’s between Atlanta and New Jersey, where she is from. We’ve stayed because the town is awesome. I can’t imagine a better place to practice law: the people are great and we get to see the sausage being made.
First job: Bagging groceries at Kroger, followed shortly thereafter by being a Sandwich Artist at Subway.
Family: Wife, Jana; daughter Lauren (10); and son Jared (turning 7 at the end of July).
Free time: Playing tennis, hanging out with my family, and learning to play golf. I also still love to follow the Atlanta Braves.
10 years from now: Ahh, my kids will be grown up. I hope we’ll be doing fun things together.
Favorite vacation spot: Maui is my all-time favorite, but I’ve only been there once. To me, the concept of being on vacation is much more meaningful than where we go or what we do.
Bucket list: Get a decent golf score.
Daily habit: I get up every morning at 6:18.
Startling fact: I have an identical twin brother who lives in Rockville. We both ended up here coincidentally.
