CounselX P.C.
Commercial & IP Dispute Resolution
Advice and negotiation outside court for contract, founder, investor, and IP disagreements—including demand letters and settlement terms.
Umar Farooq leads every matter.
Get in touchStart with what needs to be resolved.
A customer disputes an invoice. Founders disagree about a departure. An investor challenges a contractual right, or another business objects to your use of a brand. The first step is to review the documents and facts with the client, then consider whether a revised agreement, separation, or settlement makes sense. Cost, time, and the effect on the business matter alongside the legal position. Litigation, arbitration, and formal mediation are handled by separate counsel.
When to get advice
Seek advice when a demand arrives or a disagreement becomes serious. Preserve relevant records and avoid admissions or signing a release before getting advice. Negotiations do not pause deadlines. Court papers, urgent relief, or suspected trade secret disclosure need prompt attention from litigation counsel.
How CounselX can help
- Commercial contract disputes: payment, performance, scope of work, renewals, termination, and customer, vendor, or partner obligations
- Founder and closely held business disagreements: equity and vesting terms, departures, decision rights, deadlock provisions, and negotiated separations
- Investor–company disagreements: contractual information, consent, and financing rights, including SAFE, convertible-note, and side-letter terms where relevant; specialist securities claims handled separately
- IP and technology disputes: software licensing, development deliverables, ownership, permitted uses, and confidentiality or trade secret obligations
- Trademark cease-and-desist letters: commercial response strategy and negotiation of coexistence, licensing, use restrictions, or transition arrangements, with specialist IP analysis coordinated where needed
- Demand letters and responses, executive-level discussions, settlement proposals, and negotiation of commercial exits before formal proceedings
- Settlement documentation: payment or cure arrangements, releases, confidentiality terms subject to legal limits, IP rights, transition duties, and required approvals
- Early-stage coordination on record preservation, communications, potential insurance notice issues, and handoff to separately engaged litigation or specialist counsel when needed
Working together
An initial review, response letter, or negotiation phase can be handled as a Project. Fees are agreed first; hourly pricing may be used if the work cannot be fixed. A dispute may fall outside an existing monthly engagement. Formal proceedings and specialist advice are separate.
Relevant experience
Represented a financial services company in an asset sale, then advised on a post-closing dispute and settlement under the same purchase agreement. The work also draws on experience with customer and vendor contracts, licensing, IP ownership, and ongoing company advice. No settlement or other outcome is guaranteed.
Client matters are described without identifying details. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Common questions
Can you help with a founder or investor disagreement?
Yes, subject to conflict review and an agreed engagement. Work can include contractual equity, vesting, departure, governance, and financing rights, including SAFE, note, and side-letter terms. The client must be identified as the company, a founder, or an investor; representing the company does not mean representing its owners. Adverse parties may need independent counsel. Securities and fiduciary-duty claims, valuation, and tax issues may need specialists.
What about a trademark cease-and-desist letter?
Do not ignore it or agree to its demands without advice. Review starts with the claimed rights, relevant dates, your use of the brand, and the cost of changing it. CounselX can help with a response and negotiations over coexistence, licensing, use restrictions, or a transition period, with specialist IP analysis where needed. Court and trademark-office proceedings are separate.
Can you help with software or IP ownership disputes?
CounselX can review development, assignment, licensing, and confidentiality terms and negotiate changes or an exit. Specialist infringement analysis and enforcement may require separate counsel. Urgent trade secret concerns should not wait for negotiations.
What does a settlement need to cover?
Who pays or performs, by when, which claims are released, and which obligations continue. IP rights, transition duties, confidentiality, and signing authority may also matter. Confidentiality and non-disparagement terms have legal limits; settlement discussions are not automatically protected from disclosure.
What should we do before contacting you?
Identify the parties, key dates, agreements, and what you want to resolve. Preserve relevant emails, messages, and other records without altering them. Get advice before public statements or sharing dispute materials with AI tools. Potential insurance notice requirements also need prompt review. Do not send confidential documents through the inquiry form.
Will you handle a lawsuit or arbitration?
No. Court representation, arbitration, and formal mediation require separately engaged counsel. Do not assume negotiations extend a deadline. If proceedings have begun or urgent relief is needed, engage litigation counsel promptly; an inquiry to CounselX does not create representation.