Without knowing too much about your deal, I would start with a rough estimate of $10-50k for legal on that size of deal, but allow for a 1% deal contingency for all soft closing costs against the overall purchase price. The final legal bill would obviously depend on many factors including the market your lawyer is in (NYC vs Wyoming), how much you are expecting the lawyers to ultimately do (e.g., just draft LOI and purchase contracts, or detailed contract reviews during due diligence), the complexity of the actual transaction (100% asset sale vs. stock sale, equity for seller, clawbacks or buybacks), real estate, the sell-side lawyer's credentials, and how much involvement you intend to have over due-diligence and redlining and negotiating all the purchase agreements. I've had corporate lawyers argue for days over the inclusion of a single word in a 30 page contract. I reviewed the language, accepted that there was little risk to this one word, and instructed the legal team I was willing to accept the risk and move on. At $450/hr that redlining cost my company $5k dollars for maybe $1k of potential risk. Like the CPA firms, the best advice is to talk to a couple of firms and ask them how many deals of this size they have done in the last 2-3 years, on average what they've charged for similar size deals, what services they provide for that rough estimate, who will be on the project (partner vs associates), what their rates are, etc. That should quickly show you any major outliers. At some point, though, the cost becomes irrelevant and it's more valuable to utilize someone you trust and work well with, especially if it's your first acquisition. Good luck!

Anonymous - You can always find Searcher-friendly lawyers under the Directory tab at the top of this page. Here is the direct link: www.searchfunder.com/user/list/professional/legal

Tagging a few of them who might be interested in helping with your deal: ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌ , ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌ (To our legal friends, THANK YOU in advance for helping to make Searchfunder a collaborative community. In a few days, you will have full access to BVR Deal Stats, the largest deal comps data set around, on Searchfunder. More good things to come in 2021! With Best Wishes, ^[redacted]‌).

^[redacted]‌ - Your answer is spot on. It's best to talk to a couple of lawyers/law firms and figure out who will be a good fit for you from a fee and philosophy perspective. I'd love the opportunity to talk. I've completed many under $5 Million deals in the price range that David has identified. Drop me a line and we can set up a time to talk -- [redacted]

As Luke and David said, its best to talk to a few. Cost is important, but so are other things. Happy to talk. [redacted] https://www.avisenlegal.com/practice-areas/mergers-acquisitions/

You should definitely talk to a few law firms. Our firm represents clients in these types of m&a deals. Please feel free to reach out to me and we can set up a time to discuss your deal. [redacted]

Happy to help. I suggest speaking with a few firms and getting firm estimates from each. Other equally important cost-related considerations are (a) size of retainer/security deposit, and (b) dead deal fees. Hourly rates are a red herring unless they are paired with time estimates. https://www.swclaw.com/people/braden-m-wayne/

Some really great input from ^[redacted]‌ above. Get a lot of free consultations and pester those lawyers about 1) price - be clear about any limitations or expectations up front, some lawyers are expensive, and some lawyers are insanely expensive; and 2) specific experience - I think M&A experience is very important (obviously) but also specific M&A experience at this price point, which is something of a different animal.