Richard Hertling testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing. Richard Hertling testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing to be a judge of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, on Oct. 24, 2018. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

Covington & Burling lobbyist and former longtime Capitol Hill attorney Richard Hertling is heading for the U.S. Court of Federal Claims after a 69-27 vote in the U.S. Senate on Monday.

Hertling did stints in the mid-2000s as a congressional lawyer and worked in the U.S. Justice Department offices of legislative affairs and legal policy before landing at Covington in 2013.

Hertling's lobbying clients at Covington included Microsoft, the Motion Picture Association of America, Qualcomm Inc. and the National Association of Broadcasters, according to disclosure filings.

His recent lobbying for Microsoft addressed immigration visas for high-skilled workers and corporate tax reform, according to the disclosures. He also lobbied for Qualcomm, one of Covington's biggest lobbying clients, on patent reform and intellectual property issues.

Hertling, of counsel at Covington, reported earning about $286,000 in 2017, and $276,000 the previous year, according to a financial disclosure he filed as part of the confirmation process. He said in a Senate filing that “for a reasonable period of time” he anticipated recusing from matters in which Covington represents a party.

As a congressional lawyer before joining Covington, Hertling served on the staffs of the late Sens. Arlen Specter and Fred Thompson. He worked at the Justice Department from 2003 to 2007, serving as acting assistant attorney general in charge of the Office of Legislative Affairs and principal deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Policy.

Hertling later worked as an adviser to Thompson's short-lived presidential campaign before returning to Capitol Hill in 2008 to work with the Republican staff of the House Judiciary Committee. In 2012, he was promoted to staff director and chief counsel of the committee.

In 2017, Hertling expressed an interest to the Trump White House in being considered for a judgeship, including on the Court of Federal Claims, which hears money-damages cases against the United States. Hertling said he interviewed in February 2017 for a post on the court, and he received a call in January 2018 saying Trump intended to nominate him.

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