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Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney: The Grand Central Boutique That Won $120 Million for the Palm Restaurant’s Minority Shareholders

At a Glance

Founded by	Founded in 1996 by senior trial lawyers, including founding partner Fred Newman (per the firm)
Focus	Commercial litigation boutique, alongside insurance recovery, employment, construction, and white-collar defense (per the firm)
Office	One Grand Central Place, 60 East 42nd Street, 48th Floor, New York, NY 10165 (Manhattan)
Signature results	$120 million intellectual property licensing verdict for minority shareholders of the Palm restaurant group, unanimously affirmed on appeal (per the firm)
Distinctive edge	Certified New York State and City Women-Owned Business Enterprise, staffed by attorneys trained at AmLaw 100 firms and government agencies, deliberately kept small-scale
Fee model	Not published on the firm’s site; prospective clients should confirm directly
Known for	High-stakes commercial disputes, policyholder-side insurance recovery, and employment litigation for clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies (per the firm)

Origin and Background

Founded in 1996, Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney relocated in a deliberate, forward-looking move to occupy an entire floor — the 48th — of One Grand Central Place, signing a 10-year lease for the space. “This move is about looking forward, not back,” founding partner Fred Newman said at the time, per the firm’s own newsroom post. The Manhattan office was confirmed against the firm’s own site and independent directory listings.

What Makes This Firm Structurally Different

HNRK is explicitly built as a boutique alternative to large firms: its lawyers bring decades of training at AmLaw 100 firms and government agencies but operate at a deliberately limited scale, which the firm states offers clients “greater personal attention, a focus on efficiency, and fewer conflicts of interest.” The firm represents both plaintiffs and defendants across its general commercial litigation practice, disclosed here directly, while its insurance recovery practice represents policyholders exclusively, never insurers.

Practice Areas

• Commercial litigation and dispute resolution
• Insurance recovery (policyholder-side only)
• Employment litigation and counseling
• Construction litigation and counseling
• White-collar defense and government investigations
• Appellate litigation

Track Record

Per the firm’s own site, HNRK represented plaintiffs in an intellectual property licensing dispute involving the Palm restaurant group, resulting in a $120 million trial verdict that was unanimously affirmed by a New York appellate court. The firm also cites a precedential Delaware Supreme Court ruling secured for client Syngenta Crop Protection, and states its insurance recovery practice has secured “hundreds upon hundreds of millions of dollars” for policyholder clients cumulatively. Awesome Attorneys has not independently verified these figures beyond the firm’s own published account. Past results in any matter do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future matter.

Client Voice

Chambers USA’s directory quotes third-party sources describing HNRK as “a boutique with the full power of a large firm” whose lawyers are “responsive, aggressive litigators who think outside the box and are not afraid to go to trial,” with “sophisticated expertise” and a “strong mix of technical and business understanding with negotiating skills” — peer and client commentary gathered independently by Chambers rather than self-selected by the firm.

Beyond the Courtroom

HNRK is certified as a New York State and City Women-Owned Business Enterprise, a status the firm has held since its founding, and states it prioritizes mentorship and flexible work arrangements for its attorneys.

Recognition

HNRK is ranked by Chambers USA for its policyholder-only insurance coverage practice and profiled by Legal 500 and Benchmark Litigation, all independent legal-directory rankings based on peer and client research rather than purchased placements. New York does not maintain a board-certification system for business litigation comparable to Texas’s TBLS, so Awesome Attorneys does not apply “specialist” language to any New York business litigation attorney on that basis.

New York Legal Backdrop

Commercial contract disputes in New York generally carry a six-year statute of limitations under CPLR § 213(2), while fraud claims must be brought within six years of the fraud or two years of discovery, whichever is later, under CPLR § 213(8). Insurance coverage disputes are governed by the specific policy language and New York insurance law, and construction disputes often involve both contract claims and mechanic’s lien procedures under the New York Lien Law. None of this is legal advice; a specific commercial dispute should be evaluated by a licensed New York attorney based on the actual facts involved.

Awesome Attorneys Assessment

HNRK’s clearest differentiator is a genuine “big firm capability, boutique scale” positioning, backed by a documented nine-figure appellate-affirmed verdict and independent, third-party peer commentary collected by Chambers USA rather than self-selected testimonials. The honest trade-off is that Awesome Attorneys could not independently verify the firm’s largest cited figures beyond its own site and directory profiles it controls the content of, and the firm’s scale, while a stated advantage, also means fewer attorneys available for simultaneous large matters than an AmLaw 100 firm. For a business client facing a high-stakes commercial, insurance, or employment dispute who wants elite-level litigation experience without a large firm’s overhead, that combination is a reasonable basis for a shortlist.

Methodology and Sourcing

This profile was researched from HNRK’s own website, its Chambers USA, Legal 500, and Benchmark Litigation directory profiles, and the firm’s own newsroom announcement of its office relocation.

Publisher Disclosure and Independence Notice

Awesome Attorneys is an independent legal directory and editorial publication. This profile was not paid for, commissioned, or reviewed by Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney, LLP prior to publication. Awesome Attorneys does not endorse, recommend, or warrant any profiled firm, and inclusion in this directory is not a paid placement. “Awesome Attorneys” is a brand name only and does not constitute a rating or ranking claim. Facts stated are current only as of this profile’s research date.