Jacqueline Hodes

Jacqueline "Jackie" Hodes is a corporate M&A attorney and dealmaker who co-founded J2 Advisory Group in 2018 alongside Jeff Musaffi. The two left large international law firms to build what they describe as "a new model for delivering legal and advisory services," combining legal counsel with hands-on transactional and capital-raising advisory. Over roughly six years the firm has grown from a two-person startup into a team of former big-law partners, general counsels, and seasoned professionals, and reports having closed 200+ transactions.

Before founding J2, Hodes practiced exclusively at major international law firms, including McDermott Will & Emery and Jones Day, where she served as a Mergers & Acquisitions practice partner advising strategic buyers and sellers on complex, cross-border deal structures and due diligence. She earned her J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law (1999–2002) and practices out of Miami, Florida.

Her practice centers on corporate/M&A and private equity work, with a strong emphasis on healthcare, healthcare insurance, and transportation and logistics. She has been recognized repeatedly for this work — named a leading Corporate/M&A & Private Equity attorney by Chambers USA, selected to Super Lawyers (2013–2022), rated by Best Lawyers, and recognized by the South Florida Business Journal as one of South Florida's Most Influential Business Women.

Beyond J2, Hodes serves on the boards of Codelitt (a software and technical consulting firm focused on product incubation and corporate R&D) and Pleasantrees (a Michigan cannabis dispensary operator), reflecting an active hands-on role with operating and early-stage companies rather than purely passive capital deployment.

• Operates at the intersection of legal counsel and deal advisory — J2 provides buy-side and sell-side corporate advisory, capital raising, and M&A guidance rather than running a traditional venture fund.
• Works primarily with founders, business owners, startups, equity funds, and family offices; engagements include "lead capital raising, structural/deal advisory and investment vehicle management" across 20+ transactions.
• Sector concentration follows her M&A expertise: healthcare services, health insurance, IT/software services, consumer/retail, and transportation and logistics.
• Values are deal-structure and execution driven — J2 emphasizes leveraging "years of experience in dealmaking and a vast network of financial partners" to structure and execute transactions efficiently.
• Willingness to take board seats (Codelitt, Pleasantrees) signals a preference for active governance involvement over hands-off checks.