For Reid Johnson & Brian Robertson  ·  Barnes & Thornburg  ·  Strictly Confidential
You've built the IS practice. This is the infrastructure that scales it.
The bet on independent sponsors
was the right one.
Now it needs infrastructure to win.
BT has compressed into months what McGuireWoods built over a decade — hired IS talent, launched a branded summit, built capital partner relationships, and put boots on the ground in Dallas. What it doesn't yet have is the platform that turns those moves into a structural advantage.
SEE Acumen is designed to be that platform. Fifteen minutes from now, we'll have the data we need to model exactly what the IS practice produces — and what it's leaving on the table.
7 sections  ·  ~10 minutes  ·  responses go directly to Janice Thompson
Five LMM practice problems SEE Acumen is built to address
01
One in three LOIs never reaches a signed DPA
Operator unpreparedness — financials not diligence-ready, governance gaps, key-person risk — is a leading cause. No tool in the LMM segment currently surfaces it before exclusivity is granted.[1]
02
Sub-$100M deals carry mid-market complexity at a fraction of the fee
SRS Acquiom's multi-year LMM study confirms it directly: "Smaller deals can get just as complicated as larger deals." Margin is directly affected by deal quality BT cannot currently screen for upstream.[2]
03
89% of clients say they'll return. Only 56% do.
IS clients follow deal infrastructure, not firm loyalty. McGuireWoods' 2025 IS Conference drew 1,600 sponsors and 9,000 speed-networking meetings — because the firm sits at the center of their capital network.[3]
04
Family offices doubled AI diligence adoption — 57% still can't build it
FO AI use for investment analysis rose from 13% to 22% in one year. The 57% who lack internal expertise need that capability delivered through their deal ecosystem.[4]
05
Document production consumes 188 working days per year
For a team handling 500 transaction documents at three hours each, that is 188 working days devoted to production — not judgment work that bills.[5]
Sources
[1] Morgan & Westfield, M&A Basics: The Letter of Intent  [2] SRS Acquiom, Lower Middle Market M&A Deals, srsacquiom.com  [3] Law Firm Marketing Club, What Clients Want 2026; McGuireWoods, 2025 IS Conference Takeaways  [4] Citi Institute, AI in the Family Office, May 2026  [5] LegalOn Technologies, 2025 State of Contracting Survey
1
Independent Sponsors
2
PE Funds
3
Family Offices
4
Mezz & Lenders
5
Transaction Data
6
Deal Quality
7
Deployment
Section — Independent Sponsors  ·  Question 1 of 16
How many independent sponsors are active in your current client network?
IS volume anchors your Year 1 deployment model and licensing tier.
Total active IS clients — firm-wide
Breakdown by experience level (optional)
First-time sponsors
Repeat acquirers (2+ deals)
1
Independent Sponsors
2
PE Funds
3
Family Offices
4
Mezz & Lenders
5
Transaction Data
6
Deal Quality
7
Deployment
Section — Independent Sponsors  ·  Question 2 of 16
What share of your IS clients are actively pursuing sub-$100M EV acquisitions?
This calibrates the addressable share of BT's IS network on Day 1.
IS clients targeting sub-$100M EV
%
Actively pursuing an acquisition this year
%
1
Independent Sponsors
2
PE Funds
3
Family Offices
4
Mezz & Lenders
5
Transaction Data
6
Deal Quality
7
Deployment
Section — Independent Sponsors  ·  Question 3 of 16
New IS clients onboarded per year — and your retention rate in this segment?
Retention below 80% in this segment typically signals a workflow gap, not a relationship problem.
New IS clients / year
Annual retention rate
%
1
Independent Sponsors
2
PE Funds
3
Family Offices
4
Mezz & Lenders
5
Transaction Data
6
Deal Quality
7
Deployment
Section — PE Funds (AUM <$300M)  ·  Question 4 of 16
How many PE fund clients does BT serve with AUM under $300M — and how many LMM acquisitions annually?
Sub-$300M funds often operate without institutionalized operator credentialing — an addressable gap within your existing client base.
PE clients (AUM <$300M)
LMM acquisitions / year
1
Independent Sponsors
2
PE Funds
3
Family Offices
4
Mezz & Lenders
5
Transaction Data
6
Deal Quality
7
Deployment
Section — PE Funds (AUM <$300M)  ·  Question 5 of 16
What percentage of your sub-$300M AUM PE relationships have asked for AI-assisted diligence or operator assessment?
This is the demand signal already present in your existing client base.
PE clients expressing AI diligence interest
%
1
Independent Sponsors
2
PE Funds
3
Family Offices
4
Mezz & Lenders
5
Transaction Data
6
Deal Quality
7
Deployment
Section — Family Offices  ·  Question 6 of 16
How many family offices in your network are direct acquirers versus passive co-investors?
Direct acquirer family offices require operator credentialing infrastructure. The split determines your Day 1 addressable volume.
Direct acquirers
Passive co-investors
Estimated direct LMM acquisitions / year
1
Independent Sponsors
2
PE Funds
3
Family Offices
4
Mezz & Lenders
5
Transaction Data
6
Deal Quality
7
Deployment
Section — Mezzanine & Lenders  ·  Question 7 of 16
How many mezzanine funds and commercial lenders are active relationships — and what is their annual LMM deal count?
We are asking for deal count, not dollar volume.
Active mezz / lender relationships
Annual LMM deal participations
1
Independent Sponsors
2
PE Funds
3
Family Offices
4
Mezz & Lenders
5
Transaction Data
6
Deal Quality
7
Deployment
Section — Transaction Data  ·  Question 8 of 16
How many LMM transactions does each office touch annually — across all client types?
Office-level volume determines deployment sequencing. Dallas anchors the Founding Partner launch.
IS
PE
FO
Mezz
Dallas
Chicago
Los Angeles
Atlanta
All Other
1
Independent Sponsors
2
PE Funds
3
Family Offices
4
Mezz & Lenders
5
Transaction Data
6
Deal Quality
7
Deployment
Section — Transaction Data  ·  Question 9 of 16
Help us calculate your LOI-to-close conversion rate.
Enter the total number of LMM LOIs your Dallas office executes annually, and how many result in a signed DPA and a closed transaction. We will calculate conversion rates automatically.
LOIs Executed / Year
DPAs Signed / Year
Deals Closed / Year
LOI → DPA Rate
—
of LOIs reach a signed DPA
DPA → Close Rate
—
of DPAs reach a close
Conversion rates calculated automatically
1
Independent Sponsors
2
PE Funds
3
Family Offices
4
Mezz & Lenders
5
Transaction Data
6
Deal Quality
7
Deployment
Section — Transaction Data  ·  Question 10 of 16
What percentage of LMM document production is currently manual versus templated?
This data is returned to BT as part of your Founding Partner Practice Intelligence Report.
Manual %
Templated %
NDA
LOI
DPA
Diligence Checklists
Closing Docs
SPV Formation
1
Independent Sponsors
2
PE Funds
3
Family Offices
4
Mezz & Lenders
5
Transaction Data
6
Deal Quality
7
Deployment
Section — Transaction Data  ·  Question 11 of 16
How has BT's LMM client base grown year-over-year — and what is retention by segment?
Growth in IS clients signals whether BT's LMM investment is gaining traction.
IS
PE
FO
Mezz
Active clients now
Active clients prior yr
Retention rate
%
%
%
%
YoY growth calculated automatically
1
Independent Sponsors
2
PE Funds
3
Family Offices
4
Mezz & Lenders
5
Transaction Data
6
Deal Quality
7
Deployment
Section — Deal Quality & Mortality  ·  Question 12 of 16
What are the most common causes of deal mortality after LOI execution among your LMM clients?
Understanding where deals most commonly break down helps SEE Acumen identify which risk signals matter most to your IS clients — and where operator credentialing has the greatest potential impact on your deal flow.
1
Independent Sponsors
2
PE Funds
3
Family Offices
4
Mezz & Lenders
5
Transaction Data
6
Deal Quality
7
Deployment
Section — Deal Quality & Mortality  ·  Question 13 of 16
How frequently does operator unpreparedness contribute to deal failure or repricing post-LOI?
Repricing is the quiet version of deal failure — the deal closes at a discount your client did not anticipate.
Rarely — less than 10% of LMM deals
Occasionally — 10–25% of LMM deals
Frequently — 25–50% of LMM deals
Very frequently — more than 50% of LMM deals
Unknown — not currently tracked
Additional context (optional)
Select an option to continue
1
Independent Sponsors
2
PE Funds
3
Family Offices
4
Mezz & Lenders
5
Transaction Data
6
Deal Quality
7
Deployment
Section — Deal Quality & Mortality  ·  Question 14 of 16
Where in the transaction lifecycle do you observe the greatest document bottlenecks?
Identifying the bottleneck stage determines platform configuration priority and anchors your document workflow ROI case.
1
Independent Sponsors
2
PE Funds
3
Family Offices
4
Mezz & Lenders
5
Transaction Data
6
Deal Quality
7
Deployment
Section — Deployment & Commitment  ·  Question 15 of 16
Beyond Dallas, which offices would BT prioritize for deployment — and what resources would the firm commit in Year 1?
Year 1 adoption correlates directly with internal BD infrastructure.
Priority offices for Year 2 deployment
Internal Year 1 resources BT would commit
1
Independent Sponsors
2
PE Funds
3
Family Offices
4
Mezz & Lenders
5
Transaction Data
6
Deal Quality
7
Deployment
Section — Deployment & Commitment  ·  Question 17 of 17
Are there existing client relationships that would require carve-outs under an exclusivity provision?
Exclusivity under the Founding Partner framework is practice-group specific — not firm-wide.
Practice groups where exclusivity would apply
Known client relationships requiring carve-outs (if any)
✓
Thank you, Barnes & Thornburg.
Your responses will be synthesized into a Founding Partner Practice Intelligence Report — including BT's LMM deal flow capacity model, operator credentialing gap analysis, and Year 1 deployment recommendation.

Reid Johnson, Brian Robertson, and Erica Lappo will each receive a copy within five business days.
Questions completed17 of 17
Sections covered6 sections
Submitted toSEE Acumen — Founding Partner Team
What happens next
Practice Intelligence Report delivered within 5 business days — includes BT's LMM capacity model and credentialing gap analysis
SEE Acumen will follow up directly with Reid Johnson, Brian Robertson, and Erica Lappo to discuss findings and next steps
SOW execution and platform configuration begin upon mutual agreement
Dallas office goes live as the Founding Partner anchor market