Following a long discussion, both publicly and privately, the board of the foundation voted recently to hire an interim Executive Director and legal counsel. We offered the position to Brad Patrick, and he accepted. We have discussed at length the parameters of the position, including job responsibilities, and so on. (This has been posted and discussed publicly as well.)
Who is Brad? Brad has been our pro-bono legal counsel for the past several months, has become very active in foundation matters and in the projects. He is of course a huge fan of free software, Larry Lessig, and Wikipedia, and lives and breathes this stuff. Rather than doing "merely" legal work (nothing mere about it, of course) for us, he has gotten involved in helping the board think about policy, in helping Danny deal with various "customer support" issues, etc.
The need for fulltime legal counsel should be obvious to everyone involved with the projects. We are increasingly approached with interesting opportunities to partner with various organizations in ways that are consistent with our community values and missions, and we really need fulltime legal support to make sure these deals are done in a way which is safe for the foundation. Additionally, of course there is an ever increasing burden as we grow more popular of legal complaints that we continue to try to deal with in a timely and effective manner.
The need for help in the executive arena is also obvious to most of you... particularly any of you who have had to deal with the critical lack of human bandwidth at the foundation level to get things done in a timely fashion.
Brad was selected first and foremost because he is of the community, actively involved for several months, and deeply committed to our mission.
Additionally, when I consulted recently with our volunteer attorneys, including Alex Roshuk, Jean-Baptise Soufron and Michael Snow, as well as consulting with Eben Moglen of the FSF and Larry Lessig of Creative Commons, a common refrain was that we need someone who is familiar with the particulars of Florida law, as well as someone who can effectively co-ordinate and manage pro-bono legal resources.
This is important to emphasize: we are not hiring an in-house counsel *instead of* seeking pro-bono help, but hiring in-house counsel *so that* we can effectively seek and manage pro-bono help. As an example: when I asked Eben Moglen for help, he said that he can (starting this fall, most likely) arrange for us the equivalent of a half-time lawyer, except he was quite adamant that he could do so only if we could manage the pro-bono hours effectively, and he was very strongly in support of us having someone fulltime.
Additionally, Brad will be taking on a number of job responsibilities that fall outside of the strictly legal scope, *on an interim basis*. We, the board, have been overwhelmed for many months, and we need help and assistance with business deals, legal matters, finance, audit, planing, etc., etc., the list goes on and on.
We intend to hire a fulltime Executive Director following a very careful process of consulting with the community, building support globally, defining what the foundation needs, and a comprehensive search for a good candidate, both *within the existing community* and *outside the community*. It is my intention that we be very very careful in this process to preserve our fundamentally community-driven model, while at the same time adding professionalism to the organization in order to empower and defend the community model. :)
Among Brad's duties will be to assist in co-ordinating and managing that search process, in conjunction with the board and community leaders of all kinds.
We expect there to be significant press attention to this hiring, and significant support and attention from the community. If you have been following the discussion on foundation-l, you will know that there are serious excitements and of course concerns in the community about what this direction means for the future of the foundation and for the community.
I intend to keep repeating my same message strongly and simply: it is my intention to build upon and extend our radical methods of openness and community involvement, while at the same time playing close attention to the needs of the organization which makes all of that possible. Whatever side any of you personally may come down on, relating to some of the details of all that, I hope that you will join me in saying that our similarities and hopes and dreams for the future are more important than any minor differences, and that we can work our way forward as we always have... slowly and carefully, with genuine respect for everyone who is taking part in the discussions in a constructive way...
It is important to emphasize that the ED position is primarily about the organization, not about the community. That is to say, now is not the time to start leaving "please unblock me" messages on Brad's talk page. ;-)
Brad is starting work immediately.
--Jimbo
Jimmy Wales wrote:
Following a long discussion, both publicly and privately, the board of the foundation voted recently to hire an interim Executive Director and legal counsel. We offered the position to Brad Patrick, and he accepted. We have discussed at length the parameters of the position, including job responsibilities, and so on. (This has been posted and discussed publicly as well.)
--Jimbo
Of the various candidates I would consider, this seems like a very good one to me. I support the decision, and the idea of having a lawyer in the loop as most of the issues facing the WMF outside of editing challenges seem to be mainly legal anyway. I'm sure he will do a good job.
Jimmy Wales wrote:
Following a long discussion, both publicly and privately, the board of the foundation voted recently to hire an interim Executive Director and legal counsel. We offered the position to Brad Patrick, and he accepted. We have discussed at length the parameters of the position, including job responsibilities, and so on. (This has been posted and discussed publicly as well.)
Who is Brad? Brad has been our pro-bono legal counsel for the past several months, has become very active in foundation matters and in the projects. He is of course a huge fan of free software, Larry Lessig, and Wikipedia, and lives and breathes this stuff. Rather than doing "merely" legal work (nothing mere about it, of course) for us, he has gotten involved in helping the board think about policy, in helping Danny deal with various "customer support" issues, etc.
Does he have any experience in running an organisation?
My only dealings with him have been conflicts: first exposing the errors in his argument on [[m:Talk:Chapters committee]] and second defending Waerth from his bullying on this list. I can only hope that the future will be brighter.
-- Tim Starling
On 6/12/06, Tim Starling t.starling@physics.unimelb.edu.au wrote:
My only dealings with him have been conflicts: first exposing the errors in his argument on [[m:Talk:Chapters committee]] and second defending Waerth from his bullying on this list. I can only hope that the future will be brighter.
That page includes a few snippy comments of my own, and I feel compelled to state that while we still disagree on that point, we're now on very amicable terms and in general agreement about the nature and direction of the Foundation. It would be an error for anyone assume that I object to this decision; I have every confidence that he'll be a capable interim director.
Austin
On 6/12/06, Tim Starling t.starling@physics.unimelb.edu.au wrote:
Jimmy Wales wrote:
Following a long discussion, both publicly and privately, the board of the foundation voted recently to hire an interim Executive Director and legal counsel. We offered the position to Brad Patrick, and he accepted. We have discussed at length the parameters of the position, including job responsibilities, and so on. (This has been posted and discussed publicly as well.)
Who is Brad? Brad has been our pro-bono legal counsel for the past several months, has become very active in foundation matters and in the projects. He is of course a huge fan of free software, Larry Lessig, and Wikipedia, and lives and breathes this stuff. Rather than doing "merely" legal work (nothing mere about it, of course) for us, he has gotten involved in helping the board think about policy, in helping Danny deal with various "customer support" issues, etc.
Does he have any experience in running an organisation?
My only dealings with him have been conflicts: first exposing the errors in his argument on [[m:Talk:Chapters committee]] and second defending Waerth from his bullying on this list. I can only hope that the future will be brighter.
-- Tim Starling
His comment that he "disagree[s] that membership would be the correct manner of organizing WMF in any circumstance" is worrysome. Fortunately, it's not his decision. I hope to hear from the board members that they are not intererested in creating the WMF as an organization with no members.
I also don't understand Brad's aversion to advisory committees. I've seen them work very effectively in the organizations I've been involved in, and 9 times out of 10 the board adopts a resolution which is essentially identical to the recommendation of the committee.
On the other hand, much of what Brad is saying shows that he has a good understanding of Wikimedia and non-profit organizations. So long as the channels of communication are kept open I'm sure his expertise will prove extremely valuable and productive.
Anthony
On 6/12/06, Jimmy Wales jwales@wikia.com wrote:
We intend to hire a fulltime Executive Director following a very careful process of consulting with the community, building support globally, defining what the foundation needs, and a comprehensive search for a good candidate, both *within the existing community* and *outside the community*.
Is there a timetable for this? Failing that, is there a definite commitment from all sides that this is, indeed, an interim position? When can we expect the first report about the outcome of the search process?
Erik
Erik Moeller wrote:
On 6/12/06, Jimmy Wales jwales@wikia.com wrote:
We intend to hire a fulltime Executive Director following a very careful process of consulting with the community, building support globally, defining what the foundation needs, and a comprehensive search for a good candidate, both *within the existing community* and *outside the community*.
Is there a timetable for this? Failing that, is there a definite commitment from all sides that this is, indeed, an interim position? When can we expect the first report about the outcome of the search process?
Mav assured us that Tim Shell and Michael Davis were temporary positions, remember that?
http://mail.wikipedia.org/pipermail/wikilegal-l/2004-January/000254.html
What optimism we had back then.
-- Tim Starling
Tim Starling wrote:
Erik Moeller wrote:
On 6/12/06, Jimmy Wales jwales@wikia.com wrote:
We intend to hire a fulltime Executive Director following a very careful process of consulting with the community, building support globally, defining what the foundation needs, and a comprehensive search for a good candidate, both *within the existing community* and *outside the community*.
Is there a timetable for this? Failing that, is there a definite commitment from all sides that this is, indeed, an interim position? When can we expect the first report about the outcome of the search process?
Mav assured us that Tim Shell and Michael Davis were temporary positions, remember that?
http://mail.wikipedia.org/pipermail/wikilegal-l/2004-January/000254.html
What optimism we had back then.
-- Tim Starling
I think that's an opportunity to give credit when credit is due.
I was not happy either with these two appointments.
Both had temporary positions and I expect that Tim will be replaced this year.
However, whilst very few people are aware of that, I wish to say that Michael plays a very important part in the running of the organisation. He has done an outstanding job on the financial side and I believe that without his help, the project would have collapsed some time ago. He may have been appointed, he may have been interim, it does not make him less valuable. As of today, I am relieved he is on the board.
I think we should not focus on the ways people have been set on board and of whether they were temporary or not. We should see what they bring to the organisation first.
I hope Brad and you succeed to work together in harmony as I think both of you are valuable.
Ant
On 6/12/06, Jimmy Wales jwales@wikia.com wrote:
Following a long discussion, both publicly and privately, the board of the foundation voted recently to hire an interim Executive Director and legal counsel. We offered the position to Brad Patrick, and he accepted.
Happy to see someone chosen with his experience and his knowledge of the way the projects work. Congrats, Brad; welcome aboard.
-Kat
--- Jimmy Wales jwales@wikia.com wrote:
Brad is starting work immediately.
--Jimbo
I must say Brad is an excellent choice. He was one the very first Wikimedia people I ever had contact with. I can safely say that if it were not for that experience being handled so professionally I would not have ever stuck my nose out of Wikisource. Congratulations Brad!
Birgitte SB
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On 6/12/06, Jimmy Wales jwales@wikia.com wrote:
Following a long discussion, both publicly and privately, the board of the foundation voted recently to hire an interim Executive Director and legal counsel. We offered the position to Brad Patrick, and he accepted. We have discussed at length the parameters of the position, including job responsibilities, and so on. (This has been posted and discussed publicly as well.)
In the many opportunities I have had to work with and converse with Brad, I have found him to be highly competent, helpful, and personable. I have no doubt that he will serve the Foundation's interests well in these two roles. Congratulations, Brad, and welcome aboard!
Kelly
No doubt judging by the flood of positive comments, this decision was discussed at length before it was announced. May I ask where, and by whom?
-- Tim Starling
On 6/13/06, Tim Starling t.starling@physics.unimelb.edu.au wrote:
No doubt judging by the flood of positive comments, this decision was discussed at length before it was announced. May I ask where, and by whom?
IMHO it was high time to hire an inhouse legal counsel and an (interim) executive director. And Brad seems to be a very good choice for both. Congratulations to Brad, and to the board for making this decision.
Disclaimer: Even if this might be seen as a positive comment, I am not aware of any longish discussions. Is there any causal relationship between discussing at length and making positive comments about wise board decisions?
-- Arne (akl)
Arne Klempert schrieb:
On 6/13/06, Tim Starling t.starling@physics.unimelb.edu.au wrote:
No doubt judging by the flood of positive comments, this decision was discussed at length before it was announced. May I ask where, and by whom?
IMHO it was high time to hire an inhouse legal counsel and an (interim) executive director. And Brad seems to be a very good choice for both. Congratulations to Brad, and to the board for making this decision.
Disclaimer: Even if this might be seen as a positive comment, I am not aware of any longish discussions. Is there any causal relationship between discussing at length and making positive comments about wise board decisions?
You should know by now that in Wikimedia discussing at length usually only takes place for topics like cantonese or moldovian wikipedias, not for such things as hiring a legal counsel ;-)
Add my congratulations here - so far my experiences with Brad have been entirely positive and I'm really glad that we have a fulltime lawyer aboard now :-)
greetings, elian
On 6/12/06, Jimmy Wales jwales@wikia.com wrote:
Following a long discussion, both publicly and privately, the board of the foundation voted recently to hire an interim Executive Director and legal counsel. We offered the position to Brad Patrick, and he accepted. We have discussed at length the parameters of the position, including job responsibilities, and so on. (This has been posted and discussed publicly as well.)
Really dumb question, but one which needs answering: What's Brad's new email address? The only one I have for him is the fowlerwhite address, and I assume that that's not good, since he doesn't work for them anymore.
Kelly
Jimmy Wales wrote:
Following a long discussion, both publicly and privately, the board of the foundation voted recently to hire an interim Executive Director and legal counsel. We offered the position to Brad Patrick, and he accepted.
Great news. All my interactions with Brad have been very positive, and his willingness to help on legal issues has been invaluable to the OTRS team. He's also a very nice guy :)
Congratulations Brad.
-- sannse
On 6/12/06, Jimmy Wales jwales@wikia.com wrote:
Following a long discussion, both publicly and privately, the board of the foundation voted recently to hire an interim Executive Director and legal counsel. We offered the position to Brad Patrick, and he accepted. We have discussed at length the parameters of the position, including job responsibilities, and so on. (This has been posted and discussed publicly as well.)
Who is Brad? Brad has been our pro-bono legal counsel for the past several months, has become very active in foundation matters and in the projects. He is of course a huge fan of free software, Larry Lessig, and Wikipedia, and lives and breathes this stuff. Rather than doing "merely" legal work (nothing mere about it, of course) for us, he has gotten involved in helping the board think about policy, in helping Danny deal with various "customer support" issues, etc.
The need for fulltime legal counsel should be obvious to everyone involved with the projects. We are increasingly approached with interesting opportunities to partner with various organizations in ways that are consistent with our community values and missions, and we really need fulltime legal support to make sure these deals are done in a way which is safe for the foundation. Additionally, of course there is an ever increasing burden as we grow more popular of legal complaints that we continue to try to deal with in a timely and effective manner.
The need for help in the executive arena is also obvious to most of you... particularly any of you who have had to deal with the critical lack of human bandwidth at the foundation level to get things done in a timely fashion.
Brad was selected first and foremost because he is of the community, actively involved for several months, and deeply committed to our mission.
Additionally, when I consulted recently with our volunteer attorneys, including Alex Roshuk, Jean-Baptise Soufron and Michael Snow, as well as consulting with Eben Moglen of the FSF and Larry Lessig of Creative Commons, a common refrain was that we need someone who is familiar with the particulars of Florida law, as well as someone who can effectively co-ordinate and manage pro-bono legal resources.
This is important to emphasize: we are not hiring an in-house counsel *instead of* seeking pro-bono help, but hiring in-house counsel *so that* we can effectively seek and manage pro-bono help. As an example: when I asked Eben Moglen for help, he said that he can (starting this fall, most likely) arrange for us the equivalent of a half-time lawyer, except he was quite adamant that he could do so only if we could manage the pro-bono hours effectively, and he was very strongly in support of us having someone fulltime.
Additionally, Brad will be taking on a number of job responsibilities that fall outside of the strictly legal scope, *on an interim basis*. We, the board, have been overwhelmed for many months, and we need help and assistance with business deals, legal matters, finance, audit, planing, etc., etc., the list goes on and on.
We intend to hire a fulltime Executive Director following a very careful process of consulting with the community, building support globally, defining what the foundation needs, and a comprehensive search for a good candidate, both *within the existing community* and *outside the community*. It is my intention that we be very very careful in this process to preserve our fundamentally community-driven model, while at the same time adding professionalism to the organization in order to empower and defend the community model. :)
Among Brad's duties will be to assist in co-ordinating and managing that search process, in conjunction with the board and community leaders of all kinds.
We expect there to be significant press attention to this hiring, and significant support and attention from the community. If you have been following the discussion on foundation-l, you will know that there are serious excitements and of course concerns in the community about what this direction means for the future of the foundation and for the community.
I intend to keep repeating my same message strongly and simply: it is my intention to build upon and extend our radical methods of openness and community involvement, while at the same time playing close attention to the needs of the organization which makes all of that possible. Whatever side any of you personally may come down on, relating to some of the details of all that, I hope that you will join me in saying that our similarities and hopes and dreams for the future are more important than any minor differences, and that we can work our way forward as we always have... slowly and carefully, with genuine respect for everyone who is taking part in the discussions in a constructive way...
It is important to emphasize that the ED position is primarily about the organization, not about the community. That is to say, now is not the time to start leaving "please unblock me" messages on Brad's talk page. ;-)
Brad is starting work immediately.
--Jimbo
herewith also my sincere congratulations to brad and the organization! (this quote about "a small step..." came to mind, and i couldn't resist remembering how pete conrad felt) ;-)
oscar
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