What We Buy

We are specific about what we buy. Specificity is part of the model — it lets us close quickly, integrate cleanly, and run the firm well after closing. If you are wondering whether your firm fits, the criteria below are a fair description of what we are looking for.

Practice Areas

We acquire firms in Texas professional and compliance services where the work is recurring, the client relationships are durable, and the operating model can be modernized. The practice areas we are actively looking at:

Probate and estate law. Probate administration, probate litigation, estate planning, trust administration, and fiduciary work. Solo and small-firm practices serving Texas families and individuals.

Tax controversy and tax planning. Firms handling IRS and Texas Comptroller disputes, collections, offers in compromise, audits, and tax planning for individuals and small businesses.

Bookkeeping, accounting, and tax preparation. Firms serving owner-led businesses and individuals with recurring monthly bookkeeping, payroll, and annual tax preparation.

Business consulting and entity formation. Firms helping entrepreneurs with entity setup, registered agent services, compliance filings, and ongoing operational support.

We are open to adjacent practice areas where the operating playbook applies — financial planning for owner-operators, regulatory compliance for small businesses, fiduciary administration. If you are not sure whether your firm fits, ask.

Geography

Texas firms. We will look at firms anywhere in the state, with a slight preference for the major metros (Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio) because that is where we already have operating infrastructure. Smaller markets are interesting if the firm has a strong local position. We do not buy outside of Texas.

Firm Profile

We look for established firms with a track record. Typical characteristics:

A principal or two, with a small team. The firm has been operating for at least five years and ideally much longer. The book of business is genuinely recurring — not project-based, not driven by a single referral source that would dry up if the principal left. The firm is profitable on an honest accounting basis. Staff are loyal and capable, even if they are operating on outdated systems. Clients have been with the firm for years, in many cases for decades.

We will look at firms across a wide range of sizes. We do not have a hard floor or ceiling. We have found that firms in the middle of the small-firm range — established but not yet at the scale where they have built a real management bench — tend to be the best fits.

What We Do Not Buy

Firms that depend entirely on the principal’s personal brand, where the clients would leave if the name on the door changed. Firms in litigation or with material undisclosed regulatory issues. Firms outside of Texas. Firms where the seller wants to continue running the practice after closing — that is not our model and we would not be the right buyer.

We do not buy partial interests, we do not co-invest with other buyers, and we do not do earn-outs that keep the seller on for years.

Starting the Conversation

If your firm fits the profile above and you would like to explore a transition, email hello@tx-lw.com. A short note describing the firm, the practice area, and the rough timeframe you are thinking about is enough to start. Everything is confidential from the first email.