Covington & Burling attorney Richard Hertling, a lobbyist who’s advocated for some of the country’s biggest companies, was nominated Thursday for a seat on the U.S. Federal Claims Court, where he would oversee big-dollar government contract disputes and other cases against the United States.

Hertling joined Covington’s public policy and government affairs practice in 2013. Before his hiring, Hertling had been a longtime congressional staffer. From 2003 to 2007, he worked at the Justice Department, 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.