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.
Nineteen years of practice. More than a thousand companies advised since 2012.
Get in touchClear 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.
When to get advice
Get advice before signing an executive offer, before a termination conversation happens, before agreeing to a severance number, or before signing a non-compete.
How CounselX can help
- Executive and senior-hire employment agreements: compensation, equity, duties, and termination terms, drafted for the company or reviewed for the executive
- Severance and settlement negotiations: termination triggers, payment terms, releases, and continuing obligations, negotiated for the employer or the departing executive, whether or not a discrimination or retaliation claim has been raised
- Restrictive covenants: non-compete, non-solicit, and confidentiality provisions drafted and negotiated at the contract level, with state-specific enforceability confirmed by local counsel where it's load-bearing
- Equity compensation documents: offer letters, option grants, and restricted stock agreements for new hires and executives, with tax treatment coordinated separately with the client's tax advisor
- Board and executive transitions: resignations, release terms, and the related corporate approvals
- Independent contractor and advisor agreements, including conversion to employee status
- Secondment and international assignment agreements for employees working across borders, with immigration, host-country employment and tax law, and foreign payroll compliance coordinated separately
- Coordination with a company's other counsel when a departure happens alongside a wind-down, restructuring, or sale
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 assignments & secondments
Sending an employee to work in another country raises immigration, work-authorization, host-country employment and tax questions, including whether the arrangement creates a taxable presence there. CounselX handles the assignment agreement itself; immigration and foreign-law questions go to specialist counsel in that country.
USCIS: working in the United StatesWorking together
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. Recurring hiring and departure work may fit Outside General Counsel. Discrimination, 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.
Relevant experience
Represented an employer in the termination of a senior executive, negotiating severance terms and a release. Other work includes reviewing a departing executive's severance offer and negotiating changes on the executive's behalf, reviewing an incoming executive's offer letter, equity grant, and benefits terms ahead of a senior hire, and advising employers on separation agreements for departing staff.
Client matters are described without identifying details. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
See representative mattersCommon 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.
Can you draft a non-compete?
Yes, at the contract level. Enforceability varies by state, and some states, California among them, generally don't allow post-employment non-competes outside narrow exceptions. Where that question is load-bearing, local counsel confirms it.
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.
What does a release need to cover?
It depends on the claims available and the employee's age and state. Federal law requires specific consideration and revocation periods for employees 40 and older, and releases commonly address Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA, and state and local equivalents such as the New York State and City Human Rights Laws. Confidentiality and non-disparagement terms have separate limits, especially in matters involving sexual harassment or assault.
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.
Do you handle secondments or assignments abroad?
Yes, for the assignment agreement itself: duties, reporting lines, compensation, benefits, term, and termination. Immigration, host-country employment and tax law, including the risk of creating a taxable presence abroad, and foreign payroll compliance require specialist counsel in that country, coordinated separately.
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.