Outside General Counsel
for Growing Companies
Technology and commercial contracts, corporate and employment matters, data privacy, and business sales.
Work directly with Umar Farooq—from the first conversation through the engagement.
What we do
Practical legal counsel for growing businesses.
For founders, owners, operators, and teams in technology, consumer products, professional services, and other industries.
Outside General Counsel
Commercial contracts, employment and contractor agreements, governance and equity questions, privacy policies and terms of service, and the template agreements your team reuses. The largest category of CounselX’s work by hours.
Explore ongoing counsel →Technology Transactions & SaaS Contracts
SaaS and subscription agreements, MSAs, software licensing in both directions, reseller and channel programs, joint development, and IP ownership, for businesses selling technology and for the companies buying it.
Explore technology contracts →Corporate & Strategic
Formation, founder roles and ownership, governance, equity documentation, financing rounds, cap table cleanup, and diligence readiness.
Explore corporate and strategic counsel →Data Privacy & AI
Data processing agreements, privacy notices, AI vendor terms, and information security provisions, with HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, and COPPA considerations where applicable.
Explore privacy and AI →Executive Employment & Separation
Executive and senior-hire employment agreements, severance and separation, equity compensation documents, and restrictive covenants, for companies and executives.
Explore executive employment counsel →Mergers, Acquisitions & Business Sales
Buying and selling founder-owned businesses, from deals below $1 million to approximately $50 million. Preparation for sale, deal structure, diligence, negotiation, and closing.
Explore M&A and exit readiness →Fintech & Regulated Tech
Commercial agreements for fintech, healthtech, and edtech businesses: partnerships, vendor diligence preparation, data-use terms, risk allocation, and transition rights.
Explore fintech and regulated tech →Commercial & IP Dispute Resolution
Out-of-court advice and negotiated resolution for commercial, founder, investor, and IP disputes, including contract disagreements, ownership and financing rights, licensing, and trademark demand letters.
Explore dispute resolution →About
A direct relationship with your counsel.
- 19
- Years in practice
- 1,000+
- Companies advised
- 2012
- CounselX founded
Umar advises founders and closely held businesses on contracts, technology and IP, corporate decisions, and business sales up to approximately $50 million. He leads every matter, so the lawyer you speak with at the start is the lawyer responsible for the work.
Before founding CounselX, he trained at Dentons on cross-border M&A and commercial agreements and served as Head of Legal at Al Rayan Investment, building its legal function and advising senior management and the board.
Credentials
- New York Bar
- District of Columbia Bar
- J.D., University at Buffalo School of Law, cum laude
- B.A., Georgia State University
Representative
Experience.
Selected matters, described in general terms to protect client confidentiality.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Payments SaaS business sale
Represented a payments and subscription-billing SaaS company in the sale of its business to a publicly traded technology company. Work included purchase-agreement negotiations, purchaser diligence, and IP and trademark assignments.
Healthcare technology acquisition
Represented a healthcare technology company in an asset acquisition and subsequent Series A financing. Work included asset purchase documents, stock issuance, capitalization records, and financing negotiations.
Technology partnerships and licensing
Negotiated channel-partner, reseller, distribution, white-label, and OEM licensing arrangements for technology clients.
Outside counsel from seed to exit
Served as ongoing outside general counsel to businesses for years at a time, including relationships spanning seed stage through exit.
Manufacturing business sale
Advised an equipment manufacturing and distribution business over several years, then represented its owner on the sale and exit.
Seller-financed ownership exit
Represented a seller on a seller-financed ownership exit, including the purchase agreement, promissory note, personal guaranty, and security agreement for the deferred purchase price.
Clients
What clients say.
For us, CounselX perfectly blends accurate and detailed legal knowledge on trademark law, copyright law and intellectual property law with clear interpretations and guidance on the best ways our nimble, fast growing business can proceed. They make navigating a complex world less stressful for our company.
Umar and team are fantastic to work with and I highly recommend anyone work with them. Umar helped me expertly navigate the complete sale of my last company to a large public company. And I'm working with him again at my new business. He is the best!
I have used CounselX for multiple ventures. Their monthly subscription is brilliant. If I have a legal question, I can check-in with them at any time of the day. Their startup legal advice and drafting is top-tier.
CounselX has supported us on many complex and legal issues from seed to growth phase. CounselX handles every legal need we have, including employment law, partnership agreements for customer referrals and technology development, investment, and M&A. They respond quickly and are very efficient, helping keep costs down while providing the exact support needed.
How we work
Two ways to work together.
Project
A defined deliverable or transaction, with the scope and fees agreed before work begins. Later phases can be scoped separately as the work develops. Hourly pricing may be agreed when the scope cannot be fixed.
Outside General Counsel
Ongoing legal support through a scope-based flat monthly subscription. Continuity for recurring commercial, contract, and corporate questions, with larger projects and bespoke negotiations scoped separately.
Explore monthly counsel →Umar is admitted in New York and the District of Columbia. Foreign-law opinions, local-law compliance, specialist filings, and formal litigation, arbitration, or mediation are handled by appropriate separately engaged counsel. CounselX coordinates where needed.
Contact
Let's talk about your business.
CounselX supports companies on a project basis or as ongoing outside general counsel, delivered as a flat monthly subscription.
- umar@counselx.legal
- Phone
- (646) 484-8512
- Mailing Address
- 1 Seneca Street, Floor 29
Buffalo, NY 14203 - Admitted
- New York · District of Columbia