Job openings/Counsel

JOB TITLE Counsel [CLOSED]

REPORTS TO Deputy General Counsel

JOB PURPOSE The Legal and Community Advocacy group is growing and a new position is being created for an energetic attorney. We are looking for an licensed attorney who is an active Wikimedian. This position will support the Wikimedia Foundation as it continues to grow. Primary responsibilities will be to draft and negotiate contracts, assist in managing our trademark issues and portfolio, manage day to day DMCA notices, assist the community advocacy team in resolving issues and questions that arise, manage our Legal section on the office Wiki and help to build a strong relationship between the Legal and Community Advocacy Team and the community of Wikimedians around the globe. This position reports to the Deputy General Counsel.

JOB SUMMARY Duties include, but are not limited to the following:
 * Assist in maintaining and managing the Wikimedia Foundation’s trademark portfolio, which includes preparation of permissions agreements and licenses in accordance and collaboration with the departments within the foundation..
 * Draft, review and negotiate contracts (both big and small) in accordance with the foundation’s unique objectives working with cross-functional teams to find the best approach to issue resolution.
 * Work side by side with the community advocacy team in addressing concerns raised by third parties related to articles and helping to find imaginative solutions to unique situations. You will be required to interact with Wikimedia community members, concerned parties, and internal resources.
 * Work with long-time community members and Wikimedia’s unique and overlapping system of rules and policies to craft long-term and viable solutions for common issues around critical areas, such as biographies of living people.
 * Work with the community advocacy team in designing unique outreach programs to increase direct communication and interaction between the community members and our department.
 * Quickly become adept with a series of specialized tools, and work with Legal and Community Advocacy team members to create documentation as needed and identify process and functional trouble spots.
 * Other general legal responsibilities including review of marketing materials and communications, review of surveys, community escalations, and anything else that may arise with respect to legal and community issues.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
 * 1-3 years of general legal experience.
 * Licensed by the California Bar or otherwise licensed in with a state bar and eligible for the California in-house counsel program.
 * General knowledge of contracting terms and principles.
 * Able to learn on the job, think fast and deal with ambiguity.
 * Knowledge of trademark, copyright, and open source issues.
 * Good communication and diplomatic problem solving skills.
 * Must be able to adhere to deadlines, complete projects independently.
 * Should be a Wikimedian with a working knowledge of our projects.
 * The ability to speak multiple languages is a major plus.
 * Experience living or working outside the United States is a major plus.
 * You must be comfortable in a highly collaborative, consensus-oriented environment.
 * Understanding of free culture / free software / open source is a plus.
 * Willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done. A “no job too big or too small” attitude.
 * The ideal candidate will be creative, highly motivated, and able to operate effectively in multiple cultural contexts.