BakerHostetler (Search Funds Practice)
At a Glance
The institutional option: right when your deal or cap table outgrows a boutique, oversized for a typical first SBA acquisition.
- Pricing
- Custom Pricing, Engagement-priced big-law rates; no fee schedule published. Budget accordingly against flat-fee searcher-focused shops.
- Best For
- Traditional and larger self-funded searchers whose deal size, investor base, or complexity justifies institutional counsel
- Roadmap Stages
- 5. Diligence & Close the Deal
Pros and Cons
Pros
- One of the few large firms with a named, dedicated search-fund practice rather than generalist M&A
- Depth across the whole lifecycle: formation, acquisition, and exit, which matters to investor-backed searches
- Institutional bench for the issues small shops outsource (tax, benefits, IP, litigation)
Cons
- Big-law economics; small main-street deals can be over-lawyered here
- No published pricing, so cost discipline depends on scoping the engagement up front
- Less of the SBA-process hand-holding that self-funded first-timers need most
What Searchers Say
Named repeatedly in searcher-community threads about larger deals, alongside boutique searcher-focused firms for smaller ones. The practical split in the community: flat-fee searcher shops for sub-$5M SBA deals, a practice like this when investors and complexity arrive.