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Legal Fees of Buying or Selling a Business

Laura DiFrancesco

Mar 11, 2025

Confused by legal costs in M&A? Learn how legal pricing works in deals.

Buying and selling a business can get pretty complicated. It’s not always easy to understand which fees come from where in these transactions. 


In today’s episode of the Dealmaking with Laura DiFrancesco Podcast, Laura highlights the various legal fees that are involved in a typical M&A transaction. She goes over the importance of understanding the different fee structures including hourly, fixed, success, and hybrid pricing. Laura also discusses the importance of legal counsel and the factors that can influence legal fees like the scope of work and the complexity of the deal. Closing over 10 billion dollars worth of deals, Laura highlights the importance of experience when dealing in an M&A transaction. 


Let us know what you think about this episode in the comments below! 


What You’ll Learn

  • What are the legal fees of buying or selling a business?

// Laura discusses and defines the various different fees that a lawyer charges in a transaction. Including, hourly fees, fixed fees, deal based prices, success fee type of pricing, and hybrid models 

  • What can impact legal fees? 

// What are the variables that directly impact the price of legal fees in a translation? The size of deal, stock purchase vs asset purchase, scope of due diligence, amount of negotiations, post closing support. 

  • What is legal council? 

// Legal council will show you the risk, benefits, and the importance of the client making the final  call. Lawyers do not always kill the deal! It is important to know your lawyer is experienced in the field you need!

  • What are the actual numbers in legal fees? 

// What you get is what you paid for- know the experience of you legal team; You cannot get a deal done in $5,000 with just a purchase agreement! 


Episode Highlights:

[00:00] Intro 

[02:19] Legals Fees 

[08:00] Dean Street Law

[08:58] Factors that will impact legal fee

[10:37] What to expect during legal council 

[12:33] How does DSL structure these fees?

[17:54} Acquisition Insights

[18:55] The Numbers for Buying a Business

[20:39] Outro 


Resources Mentioned


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Don't miss an episode of "Dealmaking with Laura DiFrancesco." Follow me on your favorite podcast platform and visit deanstreelaw.com to schedule a consultation today. Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or stepping into the world of mergers and acquisitions for the first time, let us guide you to success. 


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Credits

Host // Laura DiFrancesco

Executive Producer // Teagan Rowland 

Editor // Teagan Rowland



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