Head of Acquisitions

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