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SMB Law Group vs BakerHostetler (Search Funds Practice)

Side by Side

SMB Law Group and BakerHostetler (Search Funds Practice), attribute by attribute
AttributeSMB Law GroupBakerHostetler
What It IsA 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.A dedicated search-fund and ETA practice inside an AmLaw-scale firm: deal counsel for search fund formations, acquisitions, and exits, with the team describing well over $1 billion of entrepreneurial transactions advised; Chicago-based partner Raam Jani leads.
CategoryLegalLegal
Pricing ModelCustom PricingCustom Pricing
What It CostsA 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.Engagement-priced big-law rates; no fee schedule published. Budget accordingly against flat-fee searcher-focused shops.
Best ForSearchers who want counsel that does SMB deals all day instead of adapting big-firm M&A habits to a $1.5M purchaseTraditional and larger self-funded searchers whose deal size, investor base, or complexity justifies institutional counsel
Where It FitsSource & Screen Deals, Diligence & Close the Deal, Operate & Grow the BusinessDiligence & Close the Deal
Our VerdictThe default shortlist for searcher deal counsel; just get the fee quote early, since pricing isn't public.The institutional option: right when your deal or cap table outgrows a boutique, oversized for a typical first SBA acquisition.
Pros
  • 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
  • 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
  • No published pricing despite the 'transparent fees' language; you must ask
  • Most visible reviews are testimonials on their own properties; independent reviews are scarce
  • 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

Both rows were read at source: SMB Law Group ↗ and BakerHostetler ↗.

Our take

Choose SMB Law Group when the deal is a main-street purchase and you want counsel that does nothing else: it runs a purpose-built track for sub-$1M deals rather than adapting large-firm habits down to them.

Choose BakerHostetler when the size, the investor base, or the structure justifies institutional counsel, and you would rather scope the engagement tightly than have a small deal over-lawyered.