The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit that hosts Wikipedia and other free knowledge projects. They want to promote the sharing of knowledge in a way that is accessible to as many people as possible, so everyone can make informed decisions. They are seeking a current law student or recent law school graduate who is passionate about free knowledge and open source issues to join their legal fellowship program. Fellows will work directly with a supervising attorney, attending and participating in internal and external meetings, collaborating on projects, receiving feedback and support, and general learning about the practical dimensions of practicing law in-house at a web-based company. The Foundation faces a myriad of legal issues ranging from complex copyright questions to international freedom of speech issues to mobile development to internal corporate compliance. Because of the wide array of legal issues, the fellows will be assigned challenging projects based on their particular interests and strengths.
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
Qualifications
- High energy for and commitment to the Wikimedia Foundation’s free knowledge mission, including an interest in free culture issues, open source software, Creative Commons licensing, etc.
- A very good sense of humor and the ability to excel in a fast-paced, multitasking environment that demands fast turn-around.
- Intellectual curiosity and flexibility that makes them enjoy tackling difficult and ambiguous problems in creative ways. Students with strong research backgrounds are preferred.
- Experience working with large online user communities (or at least the desire to). Students with experience with wikis or Wikimedia projects are preferred.
- The ability to flourish in a highly transparent and collaborative environment and work on a team with diverse demographic and cultural characteristics. Multilingual students (especially German, French, and/or Italian) are a plus!
- Excellent writing skills that can be adapted to communicate complex legal concepts to a large audience with varying (or no) backgrounds in law. Students with experience and/or coursework in drafting agreements and/or policies are preferred.
- Completed coursework in some or all of the following areas of law: internet law, freedom of speech (domestic and international), intellectual property, contract drafting, international law, privacy, data security, and/or licensing. While coursework in these areas is not required, students who have experience in these areas are heavily preferred.
- Being a Wikimedian a plus (if you are they ask that you share your username in your cover letter)
For more information and to apply, click here.
