Tel: 212-689-8808
Email: dregal@hnrklaw.com
Website: www.hnrklaw.com
Contact: Dorothea W. Regal
Number of partners: 11
Number of attorneys: 21
Office Locations: New York, NY
Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney, LLP is New York’s proven litigation boutique. For more than 20 years, we have provided the most sophisticated counsel—consistent with the quality of the elite national firms and government agencies where our lawyers trained—to clients in their highest-stakes matters. We remain small by design, preserving a model that demands the highest standards, personal attention, and a focus on efficiency.
HNRK lawyers represent both plaintiffs and defendants in complex disputes, without limitation to any specific industry or type. We have represented clients in diverse areas such as construction, employment, contract disputes and business torts, securities, intellectual property, executive compensation, trade secret theft, white-collar investigations and proceedings, insurance disputes on behalf of policyholders only, class action and multi-district litigation, director liability, professional malpractice, and partnership disputes.
HNRK has litigated and is currently litigating many significant and cutting-edge matters throughout the country. For example, HNRK brought the first case under the newly enacted federal Defend Trade Secrets Act in the New York federal courts and obtained the first seizure order in the U.S. pursuant to that statute. We also recently represented:
- An international agribusiness company against more than 50 insurance companies over a $170 million liability.
- Plaintiffs in an intellectual property licensing trial involving the famous Palm restaurant, resulting in a $120 million award.
- A refinery inspection company in a complete defense victory against Sinclair following a trial over more than $88 million in claims arising from a major refinery fire.
- A large New York City apartment building in a significant decision for New York policyholders, making clear—for the first time—the minimal standard needed to plead a bad faith claim and confirming that New York recognizes that a policyholder may assert a claim damages, including attorneys’ fees, arising from an insurance company’s bad faith claims handling.
- The head interest swaps trader at Barclays Bank in a government investigation by the Department of Justice and the U.K. Serious Fraud Office alleging manipulation of the LIBOR rate in violation of U.S. and U.K. securities laws.
- A public authority in a $300 million litigation against a national defense contractor over the development and installation of a high-technology, software-based security system for the region’s mass transit system, culminating in a five-week trial in the Southern District of New York.
- A foreign corporation against $500 million in property damage claims brought by 3,000 individuals in the District of Puerto Rico, which was amicably resolved on the eve of trial.
HNRK’s attorneys have decades of trial and government experience, and regularly try complex commercial disputes throughout the U.S. in state and federal courts. In two years alone, HNRK tried numerous cases, including:
- A jury trial on behalf of a Jordanian financial services company in connection with breach of contract and conversion of letter of credit against Mastercard International, Inc. in the Southern District of New York; the jury awarded HNRK’s client the entirety of the amount sought at trial and awarded nothing to Mastercard on its counterclaims.
- A negligence action against the Metropolitan Transit Authority brought by a police officer, in which HNRK prevailed after a multi-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
- The defense of one of New York’s largest medical centers against employment discrimination claims in a six-week trial before the notoriously employee-friendly New York Supreme Court, Bronx County, in which HNRK secured the successful dismissal of more than half of the plaintiff’s claims before the case went to the jury.
- The representation of a partner in a snack-food company in a dispute with another partner, in which HNRK secured a successful settlement after a multi-day trial.
- The defense of an international agribusiness company in a multi-week CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution arbitration over the commercialization of an agrochemical product.
- A policyholder in an AAA arbitration against an insurer concerning coverage for asbestos claims.
HNRK is certified by the State of New York and the City of New York as a Women-Owned Business Enterprise and, according to the New York Law Journal, was the fourth-largest certified women-owned law firm in the State of New York as of 2016.
Last Updated September 2019
Hoguet Newman Regal and & Kenney
A shop that came into being 23 years ago, Hoguet Newman Regal and & Kenney now occupies a unique space in the crowded New York market, taking on cases spanning several practice areas and servicing them with a more personalized, hands-on approach. While the firm’s founding partners come armed with “big law” credentials – “they were all at White & Case back in the 1970s” – the firm is a maverick boutique, not, as one partner insists “a small firm masquerading as a big firm.” One peer notes, “they are making a mark as ‘giant killers.’ They go up against, and beat, some of the big brand-name shops all the time.” Dorothea Regal attends to a robust insurance coverage practice that includes ongoing representation of Syngenta Crop Protection in an insurance coverage dispute in AAA arbitration against an insurer concerning coverage for asbestos claims, as well as in a stayed litigation in the Southern District of New York regarding the same matter. The actions, which are valued at $20 million, were commenced in the first quarter of 2018, concern a primary insurance company's refusal to honor its coverage obligations for the costs of the defense and to indemnify Syngenta for asbestos liabilities under insurance policies issued prior to 1986.
Commercial litigator Damian Cavaleri and founding partner Frederic Newman are representing Jordanian financial services company ICC in connection with breach of contract and conversion of letter of credit against MasterCard. From 1999 to 2013, ICC was a MasterCard Principal Member, licensed in Jordan and Palestine as an issuer and an acquirer. In April 2013, MasterCard sent ICC a letter terminating ICC membership in MasterCard's global electronic payment system. ICC filed suit against MasterCard alleging improper termination and improper drawing down of the letter of credit. In May 2017, Newman and Cavaleri tried the action to a jury, which found that MasterCard improperly drew down the letter of credit and awarded ICC damages in the amount of $2.78 million. In October 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the judgment. An all-purpose commercial trial generalist, Newman himself won a $120 million award at trial in a dispute over the iconic Palm steakhouse. Newman triumphed for the plaintiffs, who own a 20% stake in the entity and alleged that the grandsons of the founders, who own the other 80% of the entity, cheated the plaintiffs out of the financial rewards of the Palm's expansion by creating a series of companies, which the two grandsons own exclusively, to hold the new restaurants.
Labor and Employment - New York
New York-based Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney maintains a labor and employment practice that assists clients facing employment issues in and out of court. The labor, employment law and counseling practice provides management and employers with exceptional representation against all types of employment-related claims. The lawyers within the practice are skilled in litigation with experience handling jury trials in addition to disputes filed in federal and state courts.
Damian Cavaleri is a litigator with an emphasis on employment litigation. He continues to represent Montefiore in post-verdict motions that are pending after a six-week trial in 2017. He also represents another healthcare provider, Fresenius Medical Care, in employment disputes. Cavaleri is handling the company’s current matters which include allegations of race, gender and disability discrimination, gender pay equity and failure to accommodate claims. Cavaleri’s practice overlaps with his commercial litigation expertise, especially involving employee-mobility cases. He represents Mission Capital, a leading financial services company, in disputes, especially enforcing the company’s restrictive covenant agreements. Randi May continues to be active in litigation as well. May is representing the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in various labor and employment matters.Labor and Employment - New York
Labor and Employment
Highly Recommended |
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Outten & Golden |
Proskauer (Labor & Employment) |
Sanford Heisler Sharp |
Weil Gotshal & Manges |
New York
Benchmark Rankings
Top Boutiques
Attorney | Ranking | Practice Area |
---|---|---|
Blosveren, Joshua | Future Star | |
Bourne, Andrew | Local Litigation Star | General Commercial |
Cavaleri, Damian | 40 & Under Hot List 2019, Labor & Employment Star, Future Star | Banking and financial services, Commercial and Transactions, Labor and Employment |
May, Randi | Labor & Employment Star | Labor and Employment |
Newman, Frederic | Local Litigation Star | General Commercial |
Regal, Dorothea | National Practice Area Star, Local Litigation Star | General Commercial, Insurance |
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