[Foundation-l] New General Counsel!: Geoffrey Brigham

[Theo10011]

Hi Geoff,


{{welcome}}

Welcome !!!


Regards

Theo


On Sun, Feb 6, 2011 at 1:38 AM, Samuel Klein <meta.sj at gmail.com> wrote:

> Welcome to Wikimedia, Geoff!  May you find both challenges and
> inspiration on our legal frontiers.
>
> SJ
>
>
> Sue writes:
> > Hey folks,
> >
> > I'm delighted to tell you that the Wikimedia Foundation has a new
> > General Counsel.
> >
> > Geoff Brigham, formerly of eBay, will start with us March 7 once he's
> > relocated from Paris to San Francisco. He'll report to me.
> >
> > To recap: In late October, I hired m|Oppenheim to find us a new
> > General Counsel. I expected it to be a tough search, because
> > appropriate GCs for the Wikimedia Foundation don't exactly grow on
> > trees. As a growing U.S.-based non-profit that operates one of the
> > world's most popular websites in partnership with a global network of
> > volunteers, we need a GC who can handle a broad range of legal issues
> > including the legal defense of our projects in an international
> > context, an array of matters related to policy and regulatory
> > compliance, issues such as privacy, and helping us with the challenges
> > of opening a new office in India. Very few people have that kind of
> > breadth. And for our GC as with all our jobs, we are also looking for
> > someone who is passionate about the mission, has a collaborative and
> > inclusive personal style, is inclined towards transparency, and
> > ideally is a bit of an iconoclast. It's a lot to ask of one person :-)
> >
> > So we braced ourselves for a long and difficult search. But in fact it
> > turned out to be highly enjoyable. Over a period of several months,
> > m|Oppenheim talked with hundreds of connectors and candidates, and in
> > the end we interviewed about a dozen finalists. They were terrific,
> > inspiring lawyers: I was glad to meet them all. And I am delighted
> > that we discovered Geoff.
> >
> > Geoff spent eight years at eBay during its main growth years, which
> > gives him important experience managing the legal challenges and risks
> > inherent in operating a popular site. His work at eBay encompassed
> > North America, Europe, Asia and Australia where he handled legal
> > issues throughout the world. He's worked alone and led large teams. He
> > is hands-on, collaborative, open-minded and inclusive. And he is
> > extremely excited about working with us.
> >
> > A little more about Geoff's background: Most recently, Geoff was
> > Vice-President and Deputy General Counsel at eBay in San Jose,
> > California. There, he directed legal affairs in more than 15 countries
> > throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, encompassing
> > litigation, copyright and trademarks, privacy, ethics, product and
> > site content review, policy and regulatory compliance, new market
> > advice, contracts, governance and site security.  Previously he worked
> > for eBay in Bern, Switzerland for four years as Vice-President &
> > Senior Director, and in Paris, France for two years as Senior
> > Compliance and Litigation Counsel.
> >
> > Prior to joining eBay, Geoff was Assistant United States Attorney in
> > Miami, Florida. Before that he worked for the U.S. Department of
> > Justice in Paris and Washington, was an Associate with Finley, Kumble,
> > Wagner et al. in Washington, and was a law clerk for the Honorable
> > Howard F. Corcoran, U.S. Judge for the District of Columbia.  Geoff
> > received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in
> > Washington DC. He also holds a B.A. in Political Science and French,
> > from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.
> >
> > He speaks English and French. He's a passionate music fan and an
> > accomplished flute player: he used to busk many years ago, playing
> > jazz and classical music on the Parisian streets, and he was well
> > known at eBay for playing his flute in the office in the early
> > mornings. Maybe that will happen at the Wikimedia Foundation too :-)
> >
> > Many thanks to Lisa Grossman of m|Oppenheim for leading this important
> > search for us. My thanks also to everyone who helped Lisa and me
> > define the General Counsel role and surface and interview candidates,
> > including (roughly in order of their involvement) Erik Moeller, Cyn
> > Skyberg, Kat Walsh, Arne Klempert, Stu West, SJ Klein, Barry Newstead,
> > Veronique Kessler, Danese Cooper, Zack Exley, Jimmy Wales, Bishakha
> > Datta, Matt Halprin, Gautam John, Pavel Richter and Shari Steele. My
> > thanks also to Derrick Coetzee, who happened to be in the office one
> > day and got pulled into an impromptu conversation helping brief Geoff
> > about some of the issues facing us. I also want to thank Wikimedia
> > France for staging its GLAM conference in Paris recently: Geoff
> > attended it and says that meeting Wikimedians there, and watching them
> > work, significantly contributed to his desire to join us.
> >
> > If I remember correctly how this list works, replies to this mail
> > should go directly to foundation-l. (That's how it's intended to work:
> > I hope it's actually true.)  Geoff is subscribed to foundation-l, so
> > if you do reply there, he'll see it. He doesn't yet have a Wikimedia
> > e-mail address, but once he does, you will likely see it turn up on
> > this and other lists. Please note he's not on the job until March 7:
> > until then, he's only really available to us socially, not for work.
> >
> > Please join me in welcoming Geoff to the Wikimedia movement :-)
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Sue
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > foundation-l at lists.wikimedia.org
> > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Samuel Klein          identi.ca:sj           w:user:sj          +1 617 529
> 4266
>
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