CounselX P.C.
Executive Employment & Separation
Employment agreements, severance and separation, equity compensation documents, and restrictive covenants—for the company or for the executive.
Umar Farooq leads every matter, with 19 years of practice.
Get in touchOverview
Clear terms going in, clear terms going out.
A senior hire or a departure usually comes down to a handful of documents: the offer or employment agreement, the equity grant, and, if the relationship ends, the severance or separation agreement. CounselX drafts and negotiates those documents for companies, and advises executives on the same documents from the other side.
How we help
How CounselX can help
01
Executive employment agreements
Compensation, equity, duties, and termination terms, drafted for the company or reviewed for the executive.
02
Severance and settlement
Termination triggers, payment terms, releases, and continuing obligations, negotiated for either side.
03
Restrictive covenants
Non-compete, non-solicit, and confidentiality provisions drafted and negotiated at the contract level.
04
Equity compensation documents
Offer letters, option grants, and restricted stock agreements for new hires and executives.
05
Board and executive transitions
Resignations, release terms, and the corporate approvals that go with them.
06
Contractor and advisor agreements
Independent contractor and advisor agreements, including conversion to employee status.
07
Cross-border hiring and assignments
Hiring abroad, secondments and intra-company transfers, and bringing a foreign hire into the US.
08
Coordination with other counsel
When a departure happens alongside a wind-down, restructuring, or sale.
Tax, immigration, host-country law, payroll or Employer-of-Record arrangements, and state-specific enforceability are coordinated with specialist or local counsel.
The rules
Where the rules vary
What a severance agreement, a non-compete, or an international assignment needs to cover depends on the state, the law involved, and who's being hired or let go. These are starting points, not a complete list. Specialist and foreign-law advice is coordinated separately.
Severance, releases & older-worker waivers
A valid release generally needs to address the specific claims being waived, and federal law sets out minimum consideration and revocation periods for employees 40 and older. Confidentiality and non-disparagement terms also have limits, particularly where a claim involves sexual harassment or assault.
EEOC guidance on age discriminationRestrictive covenants & state law
Non-compete enforceability varies significantly by state. A small number of states, California among them, void most post-employment non-competes outright. Where enforceability is load-bearing to the deal, local counsel confirms it.
California Business and Professions Code § 16600Cross-border hiring & assignments
Hiring a remote employee or contractor abroad, sending staff overseas, or bringing a foreign hire into the U.S. raises immigration, work-authorization, host-country employment and tax questions, including whether the arrangement creates a taxable presence there, and whether direct employment or an Employer of Record makes more sense. CounselX handles the agreement itself — the offer, assignment, or contractor agreement; immigration and foreign-law questions go to specialist counsel in that country.
U.S. Department of State: employment-based visasWorking together
Working together
Project
An employment agreement, a severance negotiation, or an equity grant package can be handled as a Project, priced from scope once the documents are in hand.
Get in touchOutside General Counsel
Recurring hiring and departure work may fit Outside General Counsel.
Explore ongoing counselDiscrimination, harassment, wage-and-hour compliance, benefits and ERISA administration, and appearing in an agency proceeding or lawsuit require specialist employment counsel; CounselX can flag where that's needed and coordinate the handoff.
Experience
Representative experience
Executive termination
Represented an employer in terminating a senior executive and negotiating severance and a release.
Severance offer review
Reviewed a departing executive's severance offer and negotiated changes on the executive's behalf.
Senior hire package
Reviewed an incoming executive's offer letter, equity grant, and benefits terms ahead of a senior hire.
Separation agreements
Advised employers on separation agreements for departing staff.
Client matters are described without identifying details. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
See representative mattersQuestions
Common questions
Do you represent the company or the executive?
Either, subject to conflict review. The engagement states clearly which side is represented. In a termination or severance negotiation, the company and the executive usually need separate counsel.
Do you handle discrimination, harassment, or wage-and-hour claims?
Not as litigation. CounselX can negotiate a severance or settlement before a charge or lawsuit is filed, and can negotiate a resolution afterward, but representing a party before the EEOC, a state agency, or in court requires specialist employment litigation counsel, which CounselX can help coordinate.
Can you help with the equity side of an offer?
Yes: the offer letter, option or restricted stock agreement, and vesting terms. Tax treatment, including valuation and the tax consequences of the award type, is coordinated separately with the client's tax advisor.
Is this the same as a benefits or ERISA review?
No. Benefits plan administration and ERISA compliance require specialist counsel. CounselX handles the employment, separation, and equity documents themselves.