AS A PLATFORM
A business large enough to anchor a new investment. We bring it directly to sponsors we know are building in the space, and we help sponsors find one when they are not yet in it.
We find business owners who are ready for what comes next, and put them in front of the right buyer.
Law firms are businesses like any other: built by an owner, and one day sold, recapitalized, or handed to a partner. We find the owners at that moment and introduce them to private equity funds, PE-backed platforms, and acquisitive firms. No retainer. No exclusivity.
One owner. Three kinds of buyer.
We route each business to the one it fits.
The owners who call us are usually at a decision point. Some want to sell outright. Some want a partner so they can keep building with someone else’s capital. Some want to step back and hand the business to a larger firm that will take care of their people. Each of those is a different buyer, and our work is knowing which one.
AS AN ADD-ON
The bulk of our work. Sponsors and their platform CEOs tell us what they need next; we go find it.
AS A MERGER
Not every owner belongs with private equity. Some fit better inside another firm, and we make that introduction too.
How an introduction happens
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We find the Owner
Through twenty-plus years of relationships across the legal industry, and through owners who call us because they want a quiet conversation with someone who has been in their seat.
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We understand the fit
Revenue, margins, the people, the succession picture, and what the owner wants out of the next chapter. We match that against what each buyer is actually looking for.
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We make the introduction
To the one buyer, or the short list of buyers, where the match is real. Warm, direct, and with context on both sides so the first meeting is not a first meeting.
Beyond Law Firms
What we learned building and partnering with private equity applies to any owner-led business.
When we find a strong company outside the legal industry, we bring the same approach: find the right buyer and make the introduction. If you own a business in another sector, or you are buying in one, we want to hear from you.
We have sat in every seat
at this table.
Most intermediaries in this market have watched deals. We have lived them: as owners who built a business serving law firms, as owners who partnered with private equity twice, and as the acquirers who then executed add-on after add-on for our sponsors. We know what the next chapter looks like from the inside.
THE FOUNDER
We built Magna Legal Services from the ground up into a national litigation support business serving law firms coast to coast. We know what it takes to grow a professional services company, and what an owner is really giving up when they sell one.
THE PARTNER, TWICE
We have partnered with private equity twice. We have negotiated the letter of intent, been through diligence, structured rollover equity, and lived through the first year with a sponsor. We know what that experience looks like from the owner’s chair.
THE BUYER
Under PE ownership we executed numerous add-on acquisitions. We sourced them, valued them, integrated them, and answered to a board about how they performed. We know what a sponsor needs to see before they say yes.
THE INSIDER
Twenty-plus years of working with law firms across the country. We know the owners, the managing partners, and the firms that are quietly ready for a change before anyone has put them in a database.
Meet The Founders
Jonathan Ackerman
Co-founder
Jonathan was a partner and executive at Magna Legal Services, where he held a range Of leadership roles over the life of the company. He founded Magna’s records division as its first employee and built it from the ground up, scaling it into the operation it is today. He personally led acquisitions within his group, sitting across the table from owners selling businesses they had spent careers building. Jonathan played a central role in Magna’s private equity processes, presenting the business to prospective investors across numerous management meetings and helping position the platform through multiple transactions. Having seen a sale from both chairs, the owner’s and the buyer’s, he brings a unique perspective that shapes every conversation.
Peter Hecht
Co-founder
Peter co-founded Magna Legal Services and orchestrated the company’s growth from a single office start-up to an industry leader. Peter has worked with hundreds of law firms and their clients since 2002. He understands the business drivers that create successful law firms and their growth. He continues to be an active part of the legal community consulting with lawyers on both sides of the bar along with insurance professionals. He is also the cofounder and President of the Jewish American Insurance and Legal Professionals Association (JINLAW), a national organization that enables members to develop their professional network while combating antisemitism along with all forms of hatred. Peter speaks frequently at professional associations and meetings on a wide range of issues regarding the litigation support and consulting industry.
If you own a business and are thinking about what's next
At some point every owner asks what the next chapter looks like. You do not need to have decided. You need one candid conversation with someone who has stood where you are and made the call twice.
- No cost to you, at any stage
- Strictly confidential until you decide otherwise
- An honest read on value, timing and which kind of buyer fits
- Introductions only to buyers we know well
If you are buying
Tell us what you are looking for: an add-on in a specific practice area or geography, or a first platform to carry a new thesis. We go find it, pre-qualified.
- Proprietary opportunities you will not see elsewhere
- Platform identification for sponsors entering the sector
- Screened by people who have done add-ons themselves
- Non-exclusive, no retainer, no minimum term
Talk to us
Whether you own a business and are weighing what’s next, or you are looking to acquire one, the first conversation is short, confidential, and costs you nothing.