Structure, resolved.

Legal and compliance counsel for regulated businesses.

Counselize advises founders, fintech companies, and fund managers on securities offerings, licensing, corporate and commercial agreements, data protection, artificial intelligence, and the compliance programs regulators expect, all through one accountable point of counsel.

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01Securities Offerings & Fund Formation 02Fintech Regulation, Licensing & Compliance 03Business Formation & Contract Law 04Cybersecurity & Data Protection 05AI Governance 06Regulatory Compliance

Admitted, New York Bar 2013

Previously Citibank N.A., Legal & Compliance

LL.M. Georgetown University Law Center

The practice

What Counselize handles.

Six areas covering what a regulated business needs from counsel, from formation and licensing through security, artificial intelligence, and ongoing compliance.

Explore Practice Areas

01Securities Offerings & Fund FormationCounsel for private offerings, venture financings, fund formation, and related federal and state filings, from SAFEs and priced rounds to Regulation D and Regulation S offerings.02Fintech Regulation, Licensing & ComplianceLicensing analysis, applications, and regulatory strategy for payments, lending, stored-value, and digital-asset businesses in the U.S. and Canada, from perimeter analysis through bank charters and stablecoin requirements.03Business Formation & Contract LawEntity formation, governance documents, founder and equity arrangements, and the commercial agreements a business runs on, drafted to the standard investor counsel will examine.04Cybersecurity & Data ProtectionWritten information security programs, Safeguards Rule and NYDFS Part 500 obligations, state privacy compliance, vendor data terms, and incident response and breach notification.05AI GovernanceGovernance for artificial intelligence used in credit, pricing, hiring, and monitoring decisions, covering use inventories, model risk documentation, disclosure, human oversight, and vendor model terms.06Regulatory ComplianceCompliance program design, AML and BSA programs, risk assessments, independent review and testing, and support through examinations, regulator inquiries, and remediation.

Coordinated counsel

One structure. One point of accountability.

Corporate structure, licensing, data protection, and the compliance program are usually handled by different people. That can work well, but only when the advice is coordinated. A financing may affect licensing. A vendor agreement may create a security obligation. A model added to underwriting may trigger requirements that already applied to the decision it now makes.

Counselize evaluates those intersections early and remains accountable for the overall structure, while coordinating with local counsel, tax advisers, security providers, and other specialists when the matter requires them.

A securities offering depends on the entity and governance put in place before it.

A payments business needs licensing analysis and a working compliance program before launch.

A vendor agreement is usually where a data protection obligation is actually created.

A model used in underwriting raises fair lending, model risk, and disclosure questions at once.

Why Counselize

Regulation, from the inside out.

Syed’s financial-regulatory perspective began inside a global financial institution. He began his career in Citibank’s legal and compliance function, where he monitored regulatory developments and supported the implementation of AML and BSA compliance policies.

He later practiced corporate and securities law in New York, advising on private offerings, fund formation, mergers and acquisitions, commercial agreements, and transaction closings.

years in legal and compliance

years admitted to the New York Bar

years in his own practice

More about Syed

Process & Fees

Clear scope. Clear fees. No work begins until you approve both.

Every matter starts with a brief introductory call, followed by conflict clearance and a written proposal setting out the scope, deliverables, timing, and fees.

Process & Fees

01Introductory CallA brief, no-charge conversation to understand your objectives, determine whether the matter is a fit, and identify the information needed for a proposal. The introductory call is not a substitute for legal or tax advice.

02Conflict ReviewBefore receiving confidential information or beginning substantive work, Counselize completes a conflict review.

03Written ProposalYou receive a written scope describing the deliverables, estimated timing, fee structure, assumptions, and any information required from you.

04Engagement and RetainerWork begins only after the engagement letter is signed and any required retainer is received.

05The WorkSyed remains your primary point of contact from strategy and drafting through filing, closing, and agreed post-closing support.

Structure, resolved.

Tell me what you are building.

Start with a brief introductory call to discuss your objectives and determine whether Counselize is the right fit. No attorney-client relationship is created until the engagement is confirmed in writing.

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