Iraqdoc 2007-- an update

As I told a couple of the bloggers with whom I've been corresponding about Iraqdoc 2007, I've been trying to get all my legal ducks in a row before I set up a donation link for the documentary project. (And no, it won't be called Iraqdoc 2007. I've purchased a couple of domain names, but that's only one step of many needed.)

Monday I spoke with Curtis Clinesmith, a Denton attorney who is active with the Denton County Democrats* and who ran for congress in 2000. Clinesmith recommended another fellow, who wasn't in the phonebook. I managed to find lawyer no. 2 via texas-lawyer-search.com, which I just found the other day and looks like a pretty useful resource. I spoke to lawyer no. 2's assistant, and she told me that incorporating would probably cost between 1,500 and 3,000 bucks, which is a mite prohibitive in my income bracket. So maybe I'll need a paypal button to raise funds for paying for that 1st! A "pre-paypal", as it were.

She asked me about the nature of my project and I told her of my intent to go to Iraq and shoot a documentary and my blog, and said that although I thought that I needed to raise about 15-20,000 dollars, I really wasn't sure if that would be enough. She asked me for my name and phone number and she said she would look into what might be available. Earlier I told her that the 1 hr consult with lawyer No. 2 for 250.00 that she recommended was itself prohibitive, and thanked her for being upfront with me about the expenses involved, and it was at this point that she asked for my name and number and suggested she might be able to help. Every kindness helps, even if it just bucks up your spirit.

At this point I'm thinking that what I need to do is set up either a nonprofit or an LLC(limited liability company) before setting up any donation links. So far setting up a nonprofit actually looks more complicated. The filing fee for setting up an LLC in Texas is 225.00, which isn't too bad, and Nolo Press has a downloadable LLC kit for 60 bucks. I may do all this myself, but I still think I need to talk to an attorney about some of the specifics.

(*yes, there actually are some.)