Senior Legal Counsel – Wikimedia Foundation

Wikimedia Foundation

Company Website: https://wikimediafoundation.org/
Remote Locations: Worldwide
Job Type: Full Time

Job Overview:

Wikimedia envisions a world where the sum total of human knowledge is available to everyone.

The Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit home of Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, and other free educational projects, serves as the hub of a global movement of hundreds of thousands of contributors collaborating to collect and share the sum of all human knowledge with the world.

As Wikimedia pursues a new global strategic direction, our Legal department is tasked with solving many legal questions, including some that no one has fully considered before. We are looking for an experienced lawyer to join our in-house legal department as Senior Legal Counsel to provide critical advice and counsel on how we manage the strategic relationships that empower us to pursue our vision. This includes a variety of projects, ranging from the development, negotiation, and structuring of our corporate and organizational partnerships, to the support of our relationships with our global workforce, and more. Ideal candidates will have experience providing holistic and creative advice and counsel in a variety of contexts.

At Wikimedia, we serve the world. We believe that there is no way to meaningfully achieve our goal of reaching every single human unless our organization reflects the full breadth of the human experience. To that end, the Wikimedia Foundation recruits candidates from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences, including those from historically marginalized groups — women, people with disabilities, people of color, formerly incarcerated people, people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or gender nonconforming, first and second generation immigrants, and people from low-income families. A diversity of lived experiences is reflective of those who create and use Wikimedia every day.

Job Responsibilities:

• Provide legal advice and counsel on how Wikimedia structures and executes relationships with strategic partners. This includes:
  • matters relating to the exchange, development, and/or use of data, technology, intellectual property, and know-how;
  • strategic partnerships relating to education, access to knowledge, digital initiatives, and other areas of Wikimedia’s work;
  • Wikimedia’s internal practices that advance, support, and comply with the terms of our strategic partnerships.
• Negotiate and draft various agreements, including memoranda of understanding, development agreements, licenses, and non-disclosure agreements, governing Wikimedia’s relationships with strategic partners.
• Provide legal advice and counsel on how Wikimedia relates to our global workforce. This includes:
  • Wikimedia’s employment practices, policies, and compliance programs, in accordance with all applicable laws;
  • matters relating to recruiting, employee performance review management;
  • compensation and benefits, employee classification, and contingent workforce issues.
• Provide counsel and strategic support to Wikimedia’s Partnerships team, Talent & Culture department, and other teams and departments.
• Advise the Foundation on other domestic and international legal and policy questions, which may include privacy, contract, copyright, trademark, or litigation matters.
• Liaise with and assist in the management of outside counsel.

Job Requirements:

• JD from an accredited law school and authorized to practice law in the State of California (either as an active member of the California Bar or by qualifying as in-house registered counsel).
• 6+ years of legal experience, in private practice and/or as in-house counsel.
• Ability to excel in a fast-paced, multitasking environment that demands high-quality work on short deadlines.
• Experience with matters relating to technology licensing, including free and open source software licensing.
• Experience handling and/or supporting business development-related matters.
• Experience handling employment-law related matters.
• Ability to identify and implement practical solutions to abstract or complex problems.
• Ability to dedicate to projects, adhere to deadlines, and complete work independently.
• Ability to travel, including internationally; and to travel or work on weekends if and when needed, due to conferences, legal needs, etc.
• Excellent writing and presentation skills.
• Strong interpersonal and collaboration skills and ability to work well on a team.
• Experience working internationally, for international clients, or on international law.
• Prior experience with California state employment law.
• Ability to speak additional languages besides English.
• Experience working on privacy, digital media, and/or transactional legal matters.
• Prior experience working with or participating in large volunteer communities.
• Prior experience working in the technology sector.
• Prior experience working on matters relating to a remote workforce.
• Prior work, internship, or volunteer experience in the nonprofit sector.

How To Apply:

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