[client com] Fwd: [CWG-Stewardship] Sidley Austin LLP

[Greg Shatan]

Here is my response.  Not quite as temperate as I would have liked, in
retrospect, but provocateurs should not be surprised when others act
provoked.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Greg Shatan <gregshatanipc at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Mar 9, 2015 at 7:30 PM
Subject: Re: [CWG-Stewardship] Sidley Austin LLP
To: John Poole <jp1 at expri.com>
Cc: Jonathan Robinson <jonathan.robinson at ipracon.com>, "
cwg-stewardship at icann.org" <cwg-stewardship at icann.org>


John,

The CWG is not a legal entity, and therefore cannot engage ICANN for legal
services (or for that matter enter into any contract with anybody for
anything).  You've read the letter -- it says Sidley is

"to take direction exclusively from and provide advice and consultation
exclusively to the Cross-Community Working Group on the IANA Stewardship
Transition Proposal on Naming Related Functions (“CWG”), primarily through
the CWG’s Client Committee (the “Client Committee”)."

Furthermore, the letter states:

"For the avoidance of doubt, ICANN will have no rights or input as a client
to direct or affect the advice and consultation with the CWG."

Let me make plain to everyone -- John is wrong.  I am also fully aware of
the ethical rules that apply in this instance.  These very issues were
raised and discussed and I am utterly confident that we will get the
independent advice we sought.  Sidley Austin is fully aware of the emphasis
on "independent" legal advice and I am also confident they would not have
taken this representation if they thought that they could not deliver on
that.

Furthermore I find these accusations incorrect, baseless and bordering on
scurrilous and troll-like behavior.

Let me make another thing plain.  I am a volunteer.  Nobody is paying me to
do any of this.  I can easily choose to devote my time to other things.  I
will devote my time to the IANA transition.  I will not devote my time to
having my character and professional integrity impugned.

I worked damned hard and in utter good faith to get this CWG first-rate
legal advice, and so did the rest of the client committee.  It's depressing
and infuriating to have to cope with this in response.  I guess no good
deed goes unpunished.  But I am not a glutton for punishment.

Greg



On Mon, Mar 9, 2015 at 6:55 PM, John Poole <jp1 at expri.com> wrote:

> Jonathan:
> I find this very troubling. ICANN is the client. Specifically,
> CWG-Stewardship is NOT the client, so what good is Sidley Austin's advice?
> Sidley Austin owes CWG-Stewardship none of the duties required of attorneys
> to clients under the California Code of Professional Responsibility. This
> is not what I understood CWG-Stewardship was getting, and I feel
> CWG-Stewardship has been intentionally misled. For all intents and
> purposes, ICANN could have made the same arrangements with Jones Day as
> they did with Sidley Austin, and saved us the time and trouble. Has anyone
> on the Client Committee reviewed independently the California Code of
> Professional Conduct and sought the opinion of a qualified non-interested
> California Attorney before agreeing to this? There are serious
> ramifications as to who is the named "client"--including the duty of
> loyalty--of which ICANN legal staff and Sidley Austin are fully aware. When
> did the Client Committee agree that the client for our "independent legal
> counsel" would be ICANN? Why was that not disclosed until now to all
> members and participants of CWG-Stewardship? Jonathan, is this what you
> mean by "good faith?" Let me make this plain for everyone--what the Client
> Committee has obtained is "ICANN outside Legal Counsel" for our use, but
> NOT Independent Legal Counsel--"Independent" means "independent of ICANN."
> Now I understand why ICANN legal staff and Jones Day have been intimately
> involved in the Client Committee process while members and participants of
> CWG-Stewardship were intentionally kept in the dark. This is not "good
> faith"--this reeks of "bad faith." -- John Poole
>
> On Mon, Mar 9, 2015 at 4:16 PM, Jonathan Robinson <
> jonathan.robinson at ipracon.com> wrote:
>
>> All,
>>
>>
>>
>> You may find the attached a more easily digestible summary of key terms.
>>
>>
>>
>> Jonathan
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* Jonathan Robinson [mailto:jrobinson at afilias.info]
>> *Sent:* 09 March 2015 21:06
>> *To:* cwg-stewardship at icann.org
>> *Subject:* RE: Sidley Austin LLP
>>
>>
>>
>> All,
>>
>>
>>
>> Please see attached for the executed engagement letter with Sidley Austin.
>>
>>
>>
>> Jonathan
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* Jonathan Robinson [mailto:jrobinson at afilias.info
>> <jrobinson at afilias.info>]
>> *Sent:* 08 March 2015 21:46
>> *To:* cwg-stewardship at icann.org
>> *Subject:* Sidley Austin LLP
>>
>>
>>
>> Dear All,
>>
>>
>>
>> As of Friday 6 March, the CWG-Stewardship has engaged Sidley Austin LLP
>> to advise and consult on the CWG’s development of a transition proposal.
>>
>>
>>
>> In the past two weeks, the Client Committee shortlisted three firms,
>> interviewed each of them, and retained one. We chose to retain Sidley
>> primarily because they envisaged the engagement as consultation rather than
>> pure advice. In addition, Sidley presented a strong governance focus as
>> well as specific experience with the U.S. political environment (including
>> a former Congressman and a former Department of Commerce appointee).
>>
>>
>>
>> Sidley is aware of the CWG’s tight timeframe and accepts the requirement
>> for highly transparent work methods. Also, the client relationship has been
>> clearly defined and emphasized in the retention letter in that *ICANN
>> has instructed Sidley to take direction exclusively from and provide advice
>> and consultation exclusively to the CWG, primarily through the CWG’s Client
>> Committee*.
>>
>>
>>
>> Sidley has no previous client relationship with ICANN. No conflicts were
>> identified, however please note that Greg Shatan and Holly Gregory from
>> Sidley worked at the same firm over a decade ago.
>>
>>
>>
>> The Client Committee will meet with Sidley Austin on Monday. This call
>> will be recorded and transcribed and we will then provide an update to the
>> CWG on Tuesday’s call, where we also plan to introduce the Sidley team to
>> the CWG.
>>
>>
>>
>> Best wishes,
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Jonathan & Lise
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> CWG-Stewardship mailing list
>> CWG-Stewardship at icann.org
>> https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/cwg-stewardship
>>
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> CWG-Stewardship at icann.org
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>
>
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