[Community] Incorporation

[Nicholas R. Givotovsky]

Here's a resend of my previous post regarding a possible alternative 
legal resource. Best to all. Nicholas



On the last conference call, I promised to contact a TV-Anytime 
colleague of mine in Geneva regarding a possible legal resource in 
Geneva. He referred me to no less a figure than Leonardo Chiarligione.
<http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chiariglione.org%2F&ei=5dXZRfaZBZ3gggS_3tj1CA&usg=__mAzP-fr4oxMoOxisteuRXugmGAA=&sig2=C_JsG_sr24uaiQS5sLjTWw> 

Leonardo in turn referred me to his Geneva lawyer, about whom the 
following appears on the US embassy website 
<http://bern.usembassy.gov/geneva3.html>:

JACQUEMOUD, Jean-Pierre; 2 rue Bellot, telephone 022/346 15 15, telex 28 
800, telefax 022/346 89 64. Member of law firm Jacquemoud & Stanislas. 
Born: Switzerland, December 25, 1948. University of Geneva; licentiate 
jur., 1971. University of Texas; Master of Comparative Jurisprudence, 
1977. New York Bar Exam 1979. One year in law firm Pillsbury, Madison & 
Sutro, San Francisco, CA, and one year with Sullivan & Cromwell, New 
York, NY. Specialized in comparative and business laws, licensing and 
distributorship agreement, and banking laws. Handles collection and 
estate cases, and trade disputes. Languages: English, French, German.

Mr. Jacquemoud it seems helped to established Leonardo's Digital Media 
Project in Geneva, the statutes of which appear here 
<http://www.chiariglione.org/project/statutes.htm>. A bunch of pictures 
of people signing the statutes appear here. 
<http://www.chiariglione.org/project/ga00/geneva_photos/index.htm>

These pictures were taken at the law offices of the above mentioned Mr. 
Jacquemoud.

So that's what and how and who DMP did as far as incorporating. What do 
you think?


Nicholas





Daniel Perry wrote:
> 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 <http://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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