THE FIRM / OUR HISTORY

Founded in 1982 with a commitment to quality service, consistent communication, and measurable results, our firm has grown to over one hundred attorneys and support staff. We attract and retain dynamic lawyers who thrive on the challenges generated by our dramatic growth.

1982

We started small, but grew quickly and intelligently.

Kenneth S. Berkman and Steven J. Peddy merged their practice with Gilbert Henoch and Ronald Kadin to form Berkman, Henoch, Kadin & Peddy, Esqs. Our practice focused on banking, residential and commercial real estate and lending, and residential foreclosure and estate planning, providing quality service and forging strong client relationships.

1984

Continued expansion, new attorneys and expertise.

Gregory P. Peterson and Peter P. Peterson joined the firm in 1984, fostering further expansion. We changed our name to Berkman, Henoch, Peterson, Kadin & Peddy, Esqs. The Petersons introduced expertise in municipal law to our firm, in addition to contributing to the growth of existing banking, lending and real estate departments.

1993

Growth of trusts and estate, corporate and tax departments.

Gary H. Friedenberg joined our firm and grew our trusts and estate, corporate and tax departments, enhancing our ability to assist clients with wealth preservation through estate, succession and tax planning. In 1993 we also introduced our new name: Berkman, Henoch, Peterson, & Peddy, P.C.

1996

Expansion of commercial and financial litigation.

In 1996, we recognized our clients’ need for effective dispute resolution and recruited two experienced litigators, Joseph E. Macy and Peter Sullivan, to join our firm. With their leadership, we expanded our commercial litigation department.

1999

Miriam Milgrom became our first female partner.

While Milgrom continued to practice in commercial lending and real estate practice groups, she also expanded her work to include land use, development and IDA projects, not-for-profit entities in connection with affordable housing projects, and leveraged financing. Also this year, our firm established the office in our present location in Garden City.

2004 & 2007

Our firm hires top talent, founds and expands new departments.

Bruce J. Bergman, recognized as New York’s leading expert on mortgage foreclosures, joined the firm in 2004 and expanded our commercial foreclosure department. In 2007, Rudolf J. Karvay joined the firm and further developed our estate administration department. Rudolf also founded our estate litigation department.

2010

New departments, fresh faces, new name.

We continued to attract seasoned attorneys with the experience our clients needed, and our firm grew. Saul  R. Fenchel and William D. Siegel joined our team and established our tax certiorari and condemnation departments. We renamed our firm Berkman, Henoch, Peterson, Peddy & Fenchel, P.C.

2016

Tax controversy department and ongoing growth.

Most recently, Terence E. Smolev and Christina Jonathan joined our firm, expanding and enhancing our tax controversy department. We are acutely aware that the growth of our firm depends on our clients’ satisfaction, and remain committed to providing the quality service and personal attention those who partner with us expect.

2017

Office expansion and renovation.

Our offices at 100 Garden City Plaza were completely renovated providing our staff with an energy efficient, comfortable work environment. Several new conference rooms were added to accommodate the needs of our clients and the growth of our practice.