[Community] Incorporation

[Daniel Perry]

Thanks, Scott. I received an email from Urs Gasser's partner, Simon  
Kehl, with the following:

> For the registration and incorporation we charge an hourly rate of  
> USD 280. The preparation of all the relevant documents for the  
> incorporation – in avoidance of a tax ruling and other complex work  
> – and the registration/incorporation itself will require about  
> 10-12 hours total in my estimation. Due to the international nature  
> of this mandate, we require a retainer of USD 2500. If a  
> translation of the documents into French is required, this would  
> cost about USD 800. The same hourly rate also applies for the  
> handling of basic IP and tax issues.
>
> Simon Kehl

Followup emails to Mr. Kehl revealed that while they do not charge an  
annual retainer, they will bill at the USD280 rate for any and all  
work required. While their fee structure is likely competitive,  
whether we use Mr. Kehl's firm or First Law International, it appears  
that having a Swiss incorporation will necessitate a substantial  
upfront cost ($5,000 minimum) and a large annual legal budget  
($10,000 plus). Before we head down that road we best reevaluate what  
business model Identity Commons is going to use. While we can, to  
some limited extent, count upon the generosity of the initial  
sponsors, can we say that we will always be able to find such  
generous sponsors?

Dan Perry

On Feb 19, 2007, at 12:50 PM, Scott Blackmer wrote:
> The Geneva law firm in their network is the “Praetor” firm  
> (www.praetor.ch), ETUDE ZPG ZIEGLER PONCET GRUMBACH CARRARD  
> LÜSCHER.  Through FLI, their partners charge a blended rate of CHF  
> 250 / hour (about $200), for corporate, intellectual property, and  
> other work.  They would do a Swiss incorporation for a flat fee of  
> $4,000-5,000.  They estimate annual back-office costs at $5000-10,000.
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