Re: [Wikimedia-l] Quarterly goals for WMF Legal

[James Alexander]

On Fri, Oct 10, 2014 at 3:24 PM, Pine W  wrote:

> 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.


Those two committees are completely different. Affcom is a self operating
committee created by the board and, as far as know, reports directly to the
board while IEG is a committee created by staff (in this case the
Grantmaking group) and they, understandably, run it (I have no knowledge of
how much community members like yourself help do so of course and it
certainly wouldn't surprise me if it is also partially or mostly self
operating).

James
[While I work for LCA Affcom is in no way connected to my duties and I have
no inside knowledge about whether this is somehow correct/incorrect just
what I know from the years of watching]
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Quarterly goals for WMF Legal

[Pine W]

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 
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  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,
> community members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal capacity.
> For more on what this means, please see our legal disclaimer
> .*
> ___
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> https://meta.wikimedia.org/

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Quarterly goals for WMF Legal

[Stephen LaPorte]

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  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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> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
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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,
community members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal capacity.
For more on what this means, please see our legal disclaimer
.*
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[Wikimedia-l] Quarterly goals for WMF Legal

[Pine W]

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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