Incorporation
Incorporation and essential startup contracts
CHF 2'500 (plus VAT) flat fee
Incorporation
CHF 1'500 (plus VAT) flat fee, or CHF 0 with a financing round
Pricing
We appreciate EMBARK.LAW's transparent and fair pricing.
Benedikt Förster, Founder & CEO, Cada Fertility AG (fertility treatments)
Wondering how we collaborate day to day? How we work
When you hire a lawyer, the first thing you usually want to know is if the issue can be solved. The question right after:
What does it cost?
Everyone's situation is different, so we can't give you a final bill before we've spoken. But we can give you transparency on our rates and flat-fee packages and on the billing rules we play by.
Free intro call
We start with a free call (30 to 45 minutes) with no obligation. You leave the call knowing where you stand and what working with us would look like.
No billing for internal coordination
Internal syncs and calls between us don't run on your timer. And if three of us are on a call with you, you pay for one.
Billing in minutes, not blocks
We bill in real minutes, not in 6-minute or 15-minute blocks. A five-minute email costs you five minutes, not fifteen.
~20% below big-firm pricing
Because we focus on startup and VC law, we can handle recurring matters efficiently. Monthly invoices come with a category-level breakdown.
Pro bono for early-stage founders
We regularly donate the first hours to early-stage founders so you get top-tier advice without draining early capital.
Flat-fee packages
Incentives
Phantom Stock Plan (VSOP/PSOP)
CHF 3'000 (plus VAT) flat fee
Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
From CHF 3'500 (plus VAT)
Financing
Convertible Loan Agreement (CLA)
CHF 3'000 (plus VAT) flat fee
Equity financing round
From CHF 10'000 (plus VAT)
Need something else on a fixed budget? If the scope is clearly definable, we are always happy to quote a flat fee for other projects too.
Ongoing legal support
Below are our fee models for ongoing legal services. For more details, visit our ongoing legal support page.
EMBARK.flex
On-tap legal support on a pay-as-you-go basis
- Services billed by the hour.
- Fees invoiced monthly for the services of the previous month.
EMBARK.scale
On-tap legal support at a fixed rate
- Monthly subscription with fixed fee.
- Cancellation possible at any time, subscription terminates at the end of the month.
Custom monthly flat rate
Hourly rates
If we agree on payment by the hour, the rates below apply.
Startups and scaleups
CHF 400/h (plus VAT)
General rate
CHF 500/h (plus VAT)
All prices are additionally subject to value added tax (VAT). No per-email minimums or additional expenses for copies or similar.
What we don't bill
We charge for the work you asked for. That rules out a few things other firms tend to invoice:
- We don't bill internal calls or syncs within our team.
- If several of us join your call, we bill only one person.
- We don't round minutes up to 6-minute or 15-minute blocks.
- No research surcharges for topics that are part of our day-to-day.
- No cost for training juniors on your engagement.
Pro bono support for early-stage founders
Very early stage and on a tight budget? We regularly support early-stage startups with pro bono hours. We'd rather carry the first hours ourselves than price a seed-stage company out of the legal advice it actually needs. In exchange, we appreciate referrals to your founder network once we've proven ourselves.
Why comparable work costs less at EMBARK.LAW
We typically land about 20% below large-firm rates for comparable work. Here's why:
Billing discipline
Our clients run tight ships and watch their burn, which puts internal pressure on us to stay efficient. The client sees that directly in the invoice.
Specialization
Specialization is our whole strength. We do Swiss startup and VC law, plus a dedicated cross-border track for CH-USA and CH-EU work with trusted local partners. Big firms often have a specialized startup desk. It usually sits inside the M&A or Corporate group and works well for these matters. But everything else like employment, tax or compliance gets routed to those specialist departments, which are not startup-focused. Templates, mentality, approach and billing all revert to big-firm standard.
Non-specialized firms have the opposite issue. No dedicated desk means startup deals are rare, so each engagement starts with research, templates lag current market practice and turnaround is slower.
At EMBARK.LAW, the person drafting your document is the specialist, not someone reading into the topic for the first time. That's why top-quality work takes us less time.
Ready for the next step?
Tell us about your plans. We'll get back to you asap with an initial assessment and a meeting proposal.
Email us