Looking back, the signs were aligned that Quincy Newell and Felton Newell would one day run a law firm together.

And now that they’ve achieved that, with Century City-based Newell Law Group, the pair aim to use the operation to extend professional opportunities and support to young attorneys, opportunities and support they did not have as young Black lawyers.

“If we are able to be strategic and grow our business, on our own we can be an agent of change and an agent of propelling someone’s career,” said Quincy Newell. “We want to do that. We want to create opportunities and open doors for people to walk through.”

Having formed Newell Law Group as a solo practice in 2020, Quincy Newell brought Felton Newell – no relation – on board as co-managing partner and co-owner last year. They initially came across one another as incidental competitors over the Newell name when seeking trademarks and URLs, and reunited in 2022 when Quincy Newell temporarily shelved his own firm to help downtown-based Sanders Roberts LLP form transactional and entertainment practices. Newell Law Group was brought back in 2023.

“We didn’t meet at Sanders Roberts, but it rekindled that relationship. We got along really well, found that we had a lot of the same desires and goals and similar personalities to a large degree,” Quincy Newell recalled. “When I left, Felton didn’t come with me then, but when I found out he was considering a change, we sat down.”

At this stage of his career, Felton Newell said he’s seen it all: Big Law, the city attorney’s office, a solo practice and a mid-size firm. Joining Newell Law Group has allowed him to put all of those skills to use, he said, while also providing a medium for him to mentor the next generation of attorneys – especially minority attorneys who can’t always find those opportunities.

“I think it makes it even more critical for us to engage with people who are more junior in their careers who are trying to navigate the spaces that we have already navigated,” Felton Newell said. “I am conscious of trying to be a positive force who treats people fairly and tries to not be a source of friction or challenges based on things that are beyond peoples’ control.”

Entertainment background

This is not the only business Quincy Newell has had a hand in. He previously held executive roles with Warner Bros. Discovery, Universal Music Group, Rhino Records and Paramount. He also cofounded production company Codeblack Films, which in 2012 was acquired by Lionsgate Films.

Quincy Newell said his legal expertise helped inform his business decision-making and that he was able to function as an in-house counsel in a lot of situations. This resume helped him form the vision of his law firm as a boutique for entertainment business litigation and transactions.

“The roles that I played in my 30-some-odd years working in the entertainment business has always been focused on the management role and overseeing business operations,” Quincy Newell said. “I don’t want to say it feels the same, but it was like taking one of the verticals and making a company out of it.”

No longer the solo practice it originated as, Newell Law Group has five total attorneys now, with two of counsel attorneys and one legal assistant. That team includes senior counsels Kimberlina McKinney and Hector Almaguer, associate Christine Said, of counsels Larry Zerner and Ara Akaragian, and legal assistant Justine Franco.

Quincy Newell had previously speculated the firm could grow to about 10 attorneys, with the hope of maintaining a more personal touch than larger operations can usually offer.

“We intend to keep it that way,” Felton Newell said. “We want to stay a boutique firm to be able to give our clients that full support and also have a high touch relationship with the clients that we have.”

Creating opportunities

The two Newells also draw from their past experiences as juniors working under senior partners and leaders in how they build the culture at their firm.

Both said early in their careers, they lacked Black mentorship at their respective places of employment. Rather than letting it hold them back, however, both Newells said it pushed them to make their own paths and success stories.

“When I was a junior attorney in law firms that were predominantly white, I certainly had experiences with partners who treated me differently, in a way that negatively impacted my career,” Felton Newell said. “I think that is also part of what inspired me to, at some point in my care

er, be in a place where I could control my own destiny and I would be able to ensure that people of whatever race worked with me would be treated fairly and equitably.

“That’s the lesson I took from that challenge,” he continued. “I wanted to put myself in a position where I wasn’t dependent on other people for my career to be what I wanted it to be and also to be a positive force for others to ensure that they have opportunity.”

Quincy Newell said he took inspiration from prior generations in his family who also worked in the entertainment industry here. On one occasion, after putting a lot of thought into how he would run a section of the company he worked at, he said he directly approached his superior and asked to be involved in that facet of the operation. Impressed, the supervisor took him on.

“You have to at least aspire to control your destiny if you can. Nothing is going to be given to you. You are not entitled to anything,” Quincy Newell said. “Quite frankly, the world as it is presented to you through certain eyes, is not exactly built for you to succeed. Those are hard fact and truths I was taught at an early age, in an effort to motivate me to not wait for anyone else to make something happen for you.”

Both attorneys can also count their prior employer – Sanders Roberts, which was founded by two Black attorneys – as setting the stage for what Newell Law Group can be. They found mentorship and support from Black supervisors and minority colleagues there; now, they’re able to pass along the same leadership they were denied early in their careers.

“We have to take initiative to show, by action and by modeling, what is possible and what it looks like. In those types of environments, you have access potentially to information, tutelage and mentorship that you might not otherwise have,” Quincy Newell said. “Just by existing and fighting that good fight, we’re taking on that challenge. We think it has value beyond us simply making money.”