Michelle Paulson

Legal Counsel, Wikimedia Foundation

"Where else can you help effect positive change in the world on a daily basis?"

About me

I have been with the Foundation in a variety of legal roles since 2008. I attended the University of California, Berkeley (Go Bears!) for university and the University of California, Hastings (Go Ridiculously Heavy Books!) for law school. I am licensed to practice law in California and New York. Personally, I'm a geek about intellectual property, freedom of speech on the internet, online privacy, beer, food, and travel to find said beer and food.

My work

As Legal Counsel for the Wikimedia Foundation, I represent and advise the Foundation on a wide array of matters, including community and content issues, contracts, intellectual property, international law, licensing, litigation, policy, and privacy. I have the immense privilege of helping defend the community's work and fighting to protect the right to freely disseminate the world's collective knowledge.

For legal ethical reasons I (as well as the rest of the legal team) can only represent the Wikimedia Foundation and cannot be the attorney for the community or chapters, though the legal team often provides strong support to the community in many ways consistent with the the Foundation goals. You can read more about our initiatives here and here.

Disclaimer: I work for the Wikimedia Foundation, and this is the account I intend to use for edits or statements I make in that role. However, the Foundation does not vet all my activity, so edits, statements, or other contributions made by this account may not reflect the views of the Foundation.

Contact me

E-mail: mpaulsonwikimedia.org
LinkedIn profile