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Holland & Knight (Search Funds Practice) vs SMB Law Group

Side by Side

Holland & Knight (Search Funds Practice) and SMB Law Group, attribute by attribute
AttributeHolland & KnightSMB Law Group
What It IsThe search fund practice of a large national law firm, representing domestic and international searchers through the full life cycle: fund formation and capital raising, tax structuring, diligence, the acquisition itself, operating matters, and exit, with cross-border capability through offices in Mexico and Colombia.A nationwide M&A law firm built specifically for small business acquisitions, representing searchers, sponsors, and investors, with a dedicated 'Main Street Express' offering for the smallest deals and fractional general counsel post-close.
CategoryLegalLegal
Pricing ModelCustom PricingCustom Pricing
What It CostsEngagement-based legal fees, quoted per matter; large-firm rates apply.A fee is published now, on the Main Street Express service page: fixed-fee engagements from a $4,000 minimum to $15,000 depending on the transaction. The same page and the firm's own service card disagree about the ceiling that qualifies, one saying below $1.5 million of purchase price and the other below $1 million, so confirm which applies before assuming the fixed fee. Everything outside that offering is still quoted on contact.
Best ForTraditional searchers whose raise, structure, or deal has cross-border or investor-heavy complexity that rewards big-firm depthSearchers who want counsel that does SMB deals all day instead of adapting big-firm M&A habits to a $1.5M purchase
Where It FitsSet Up & Fund the Search, Diligence & Close the Deal, Operate & Grow the BusinessSource & Screen Deals, Diligence & Close the Deal, Operate & Grow the Business
Our VerdictThe big-firm option for when the deal outgrows a boutique: investor-heavy raises, cross-border targets, or complex structures justify the rate card.The default shortlist for searcher deal counsel; just get the fee quote early, since pricing isn't public.
Pros
  • Full life-cycle coverage from search-capital raise to exit, not just the purchase agreement
  • One of the few large firms with a named, staffed search fund practice
  • Real cross-border bench for international searches, rare in this niche
  • ETA-native: represents searchers, sponsors, and PE nationwide, with $0.5B+ in deals closed since 2022 and a 350th-transaction milestone
  • Sub-$1M deals get a purpose-built product (Main Street Express) instead of being unprofitable afterthoughts
  • Deep community presence and free resources, including a 2026 LOI template built from 500+ transaction outcomes
Cons
  • Large-firm rates sit above the boutique searcher-focused shops
  • No published deal counts or fee ranges to compare against
  • A Main Street self-funded deal may not need this scale of counsel
  • No published pricing despite the 'transparent fees' language; you must ask
  • Most visible reviews are testimonials on their own properties; independent reviews are scarce

Both rows were read at source: Holland & Knight ↗ and SMB Law Group ↗.

Our take

Choose Holland and Knight when the raise or the structure is the hard part: fund formation, investor-heavy terms, tax structuring, or anything cross-border rewards a large firm's bench, and large-firm rates are the price of that depth.

Choose SMB Law Group when the deal is the hard part and it is a Main Street one. A firm doing small acquisitions all day brings habits sized to the purchase rather than big-firm M&A adapted down to it, with a dedicated lane for sub-million-dollar deals.