Head of Acquisitions

Job details

Work model

Remote

Salary

Not listed by source

Job description

Intro description: Legalist is a tech-enabled alternative asset manager that uses proprietary data-driven origination to invest in uncorrelated legal and government-payment assets. Founded out of Y Combinator in 2016, Legalist manages over $1.7 billion for endowments, foundations, and family offices. Legalist is seeking a Head of Acquisitions to lead origination and execution for a new investment strategy focused on partnering with founder-led professional services businesses. This front-end role is responsible for sourcing opportunities, building founder relationships, evaluating acquisition targets, and driving transactions from first conversation through close. Key Responsibilities • Source and develop acquisition opportunities through direct outreach and relationship building • Build trust with founders, operators, and intermediaries to generate proprietary deal flow • Lead early-stage diligence, opportunity assessment, and transaction qualification • Evaluate businesses across financial, operational, legal, and strategic dimensions • Manage transactions from sourcing through diligence, negotiation, and close • Develop investment recommendations and present to senior leadership • Partner with legal, finance, and operating teams to ensure smooth execution • Help refine acquisition strategy, target criteria, and repeatable deal processes • Partner with leadership and operators of acquired businesses to support post-transaction integration, governance, and performance tracking • Identify and drive operational improvements and growth initiatives across acquired firms, including monitoring KPIs, advising on strategic decisions, and supporting execution of value creation plans Qualifications • 8+ years of experience in M&A, private equity, principal investing, corporate development, investment banking, or a related transactional role • Strong deal sourcing and origination capabilities with the ability to create opportunities • Executive presence and credibility to engage directly with founders and senior operators • Experience leading transactions from initial outreach through close • Strong financial and commercial judgment with excellent negotiation and communication skills • Comfortable operating independently in a fast-moving, entrepreneurial environment Preferred Qualifications • Principal-level private equity experience with strong sourcing and execution exposure • Background as a private equity or transactional attorney who transitioned into investing or deal execution • Experience in search funds, independent sponsor models, or direct acquisition environments • Track record working with founder-led businesses and lower middle market transactions

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