Hi Kirill, my understanding is that Affcom functions under the Legal department, much like the Individual Engagement Grants Committee functions under the Grantmaking department. Is that so, and if not, which department is responsible for Affcom?

Hi Stephen, in the specific case of Cascadia Wikimedians, it is difficult for me to understand what about our inquiry should take longer than 10 days, let alone 14 or 21. Speaking more generally, as I said, this is not the first occasion when I feel that simple questions have taken a remarkably long time to get responses from Legal. If there is a reason for an issue to take longer than 14 days for a comprehensive response, at the least Legal could provide a substantive explanation for the length of time involved.

Let me provide a basis for comparison. In the Individual Engagement Grants Committee, I estimate that 95% of inquiries receive responses within 4 days, and nearly 100% receive responses within 7 days *including* matters that need to go through Anasuya. So, it is difficult for me to understand how in IEGCom we can get nearly 100% of inquiries resolved within 7 days, yet in Cascadia Wikimedians we can go for weeks without hearing anything from Affcom or Legal, much less receiving substantive responses.

I still would like to see what the quarterly goals are for the Legal team.

Thank you,

Pine


On Thu, Oct 9, 2014 at 5:06 PM, Stephen LaPorte <slaporte@wikimedia.org> wrote:
Hello Pine,

I am happy to speak with you specifically about turn-around time, so that
we get your question resolved quickly and find solutions that may improve
the process for others.

Overall, we try to be quite responsive. In cases that do take time, it is
likely because there are unusual circumstances that require background work
or internal and community coordination, and we may need to triage and
prioritize appropriately given our resources and other factors. I am not
sure that a 14-day turn around timeline makes sense for all cases. In
legal, we handle a range of other portfolios with a high level of
complexity, so this would result in some variance. Sometimes our responses
may take longer than we like, but I think our turn around time is often
much shorter than 14 days for most standard questions. Movement role
questions often require time for coordination with various stakeholders
internally and externally, and that may add to the response time as well.

As I say, please feel free to email me, and we will try to expedite a
response to your specific question.

Best,
Stephen

On Thu, Oct 9, 2014 at 9:15 PM, Pine W <wiki.pine@gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear Geoff,
>
> In light of the above discussion about quarterly reviews on Wikimedia-l,
> can we find a set of quarterly goals for Legal somewhere?
>
> In particular I personally feel that the following would be helpful as
> goals for Legal this quarter:
>
> * Establishing timeline commitments for Affcom to respond to requests for
> approvals or for Affcom to ask new questions about a requested approval.
> Having approval requests stay open for weeks with no communication from
> Affcom creates challenges for thematic orgs which are working on our own
> timelines that may have dependencies on Affcom action. I have experienced
> this myself and have heard about similar issues happening with other
> requests. I suggest that Affcom have a commitment that all inquiries will
> recieve substantive responses within 14 days of the date of the inquiry, or
> otherwise Legal will take over the handling of the inquiry so that progress
> of thorgs can continue in a timely manner.
>
> * Similarly, establishing timeline commitments for Legal to respond to
> community and thematic org inquiries. I have experiened lengthy  delays on
> more than one occasion about what I feel are simple questions. I feel that
> a commitment that Legal will respond substantively to inquiries within 14
> days would be helpful, and would appreciated by the community and thematic
> orgs.
>
> Thanks very much.
>
> Regards,
>
> Pine
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--
Stephen LaPorte
Legal Counsel
Wikimedia Foundation

*NOTICE:  As an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation, for legal and
ethical reasons, I cannot give legal advice to, or serve as a lawyer for,
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For more on what this means, please see our legal disclaimer
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