Legal Fellow (Spring 2027)

Summary

The Wikimedia Foundation is a nonprofit organization that operates Wikipedia and other free knowledge projects. The Legal Fellow will gain in-house legal experience by researching legal questions, drafting licensing agreements, developing policies, and supporting projects under the supervision of a Legal Department attorney.

Responsibilities

• The Foundation faces a myriad of legal issues ranging from complex copyright questions to international freedom of expression to mobile development to internal corporate compliance
• Because of the wide array of legal issues, legal fellows will be assigned challenging projects based on their particular interests and strengths
• These projects range from researching various legal questions to drafting licensing agreements to developing internal and external policies
• Each fellow will receive individualized projects that they will be expected to spearhead under the supervision and guidance of an attorney from the Legal Department
• Fellows will work closely with their supervising attorney - attending and participating in internal and external meetings, collaborating on projects, receiving feedback and support, and generally learning about the practical dimensions of practicing law in-house at a web-based company
• When the opportunity exists, the Legal Department will work with a fellow's university to facilitate earning academic credits and/or receiving funding for the fellow's time at the Wikimedia Foundation

Skills

• High energy for and commitment to the Wikimedia Foundation's free knowledge mission, including an interest in free culture issues, digital rights, open source software, Creative Commons licensing, etc
• A good sense of humor and the ability to excel in a fast-paced, multitasking environment that demands fast turn-arounds
• Intellectual curiosity and flexibility that makes them enjoy tackling difficult and ambiguous problems in creative ways
• Experience working with large online user communities (or at least the desire to)
• The ability to flourish in a highly transparent and collaborative environment and work on a team with diverse demographic and cultural characteristics
• Excellent writing skills that can be adapted to communicate complex legal concepts to a large audience with varying (or no) backgrounds in law
• Completed coursework in some or all of the following areas of law: internet law, freedom of expression (domestic and international), intellectual property, contract drafting, international law, privacy, data security, and/or licensing
• Candidates with strong research backgrounds are preferred
• Candidates with experience with wikis or Wikimedia projects are preferred
• Multilingual candidates are a plus!
• Candidates with experience and/or coursework in drafting agreements and/or policies are preferred
• While coursework in these areas is not required, students who have experience in these areas are heavily preferred
• Being a Wikimedian! (Please share your username in your cover letter.)

Qualifications

Must Haves

• High energy for and commitment to the Wikimedia Foundation's free knowledge mission, including an interest in free culture issues, digital rights, open source software, Creative Commons licensing, etc
• A good sense of humor and the ability to excel in a fast-paced, multitasking environment that demands fast turn-arounds
• Intellectual curiosity and flexibility that makes them enjoy tackling difficult and ambiguous problems in creative ways
• Experience working with large online user communities (or at least the desire to)
• The ability to flourish in a highly transparent and collaborative environment and work on a team with diverse demographic and cultural characteristics
• Excellent writing skills that can be adapted to communicate complex legal concepts to a large audience with varying (or no) backgrounds in law
• Completed coursework in some or all of the following areas of law: internet law, freedom of expression (domestic and international), intellectual property, contract drafting, international law, privacy, data security, and/or licensing

Nice to Haves

• Candidates with strong research backgrounds are preferred
• Candidates with experience with wikis or Wikimedia projects are preferred
• Multilingual candidates are a plus!
• Candidates with experience and/or coursework in drafting agreements and/or policies are preferred
• While coursework in these areas is not required, students who have experience in these areas are heavily preferred
• Being a Wikimedian! (Please share your username in your cover letter.)

Benefits

• Individualized projects with education and training in Internet law and free knowledge organizations
• Supervision and guidance from an attorney from the Legal Department
• Feedback and support while working with the supervising attorney
• When the opportunity exists, the Legal Department will work with a fellow's university to facilitate earning academic credits and/or receiving funding for the fellow's time at the Wikimedia Foundation
• Remote-first organization