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On the Biggest Sale of Your Life, Hire the Lawyer First
Most founders hire the investment bank first and let the bank point them to a lawyer. One founder weeks from going to market did the exact opposite, on purpose.
A founder weeks away from taking their firm to market shared the sequencing behind the exit team, and it runs against the usual playbook.
They hired the transaction attorney first, and that attorney ran the process to select the bank, not the other way around. The one non-negotiable in choosing counsel was judgment, not just legal horsepower: someone who could be a counselor as well as a lawyer on the largest transaction of their life.
They stayed the general contractor throughout, scoping the work and controlling fees with ballpark estimates up front, and they chose a boutique deal attorney with a deep track record over a big-name brand.
“I would hire your attorney before you hire an investment bank. By, like, without a doubt.”
Why it matters to you
The sale of your firm is likely the single largest financial event of your life, and the order in which you build the team around it quietly shapes the outcome. A deal lawyer with judgment, brought in before the banker, can help you choose the right bank and protect you from the terms that cost real money later. The specialist with a thousand reps usually beats the brand name, and staying the general contractor keeps both the fees and the process under your control.
Your one thing
If you went to market this year, who is the first call you would make? If the honest answer is a banker before a lawyer with real deal judgment, it is worth reconsidering the order.
Collective 54 is where boutique service firm founders go to make more money, scale with less friction, and build a firm worth buying.
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