Sarah Wilson | Miller Center

Practitioner Senior Fellow

Fast Facts

Litigation and investigations partner, Covington & Burling LLP
Former federal judge on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims
Former senior and associate counsel to President Bill Clinton
Expertise on recalls and safety-related investigations, compliance program enhancements, voluntary safety standards

Areas Of Expertise

Domestic Affairs
Law and Justice
Economic Issues
Finance and Banking
Governance

Sarah Wilson is a litigation and investigations partner who chairs the Product Safety Practice Group at Covington & Burling LLP. Her clients include the world’s largest global consumer and commercial products manufacturers across a range of industries, including consumer packaged goods, automotive vehicles and equipment, aviation, electronics, life sciences, and information technology.

Wilson has successfully represented clients in some of the largest recalls and safety-related investigations in recent history, including airbags, fire extinguishers, single load liquid laundry packets, toxic chemicals in household products, lithium-ion battery-powered laptops, car seats, and electric bikes and scooters. Wilson assists clients in developing cutting-edge recall policies, compliance program enhancements, and voluntary safety standards.

Prior to joining Covington, Wilson served in several high-ranking federal government positions, including as a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, as senior and associate counsel to President Bill Clinton, and as a deputy assistant attorney general and trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice.

Sarah Wilson News Feed

Toward a more responsible and effective presidency

UVA’s nonpartisan Miller Center of Public Affairs convenes presidential experts—dozens of leading Democrats and Republicans, scholars from across the country, and top journalists—for the second biennial Conference on the American Presidency, a series of constructive conversations about the modern presidency.

Guian McKee, Rachel Potter, Andrew Rudalevige, William Antholis, Alexander Bick, Everett Eissenstat, Mara Rudman, Sarah Wilson, Sidney Milkis, Louisa Terrell, Ashley Deeks, Eric Edelman, Saikrishna Prakash, Russell Riley, Allan Stam, and Philip Zelikow Miller Center Presents

Presidents and emergency government

Russell Riley describes when U.S. presidents have modified institutional practices to address emergencies.

Russell L. Riley

Independence and the Executive Branch

President Trump has defied political norms established to protect federal agencies from partisan interference

Barbara Perry and Sarah Wilson

Toward a more responsible and effective presidency

Leading up to the Miller Center’s 50th anniversary in 2025, this conference shares new ideas and best practices to support a more responsible and effective presidency.

Miller Center Presents

UVA Miller Center breaks down controversy in the U.S. Supreme Court

This year, the U.S. Supreme Court looking at hot button and controversial topics, from abortion to guns. There is also the question of appointing a new justice before the midterm elections in November. Experts from the Miller Center at the University of Virginia are weighing in on the cases that have the potential to reshape the future of America and discussing who's likely to get President Joe Biden's first high court nomination. First up, is "the political stench" of overturning a landmark case: Planned Parenthood v. Casey. "To re-examine a watershed decision would subvert the court's legitimacy beyond any serious question,” said Sarah Wilson, a Senior Fellow at the Miller Center.

Sarah Wilson CBS19