RE: [council] Letter to L.Touton

[Dennis Jennings <Dennis.Jennings@ucd.ie>]

Kathy,

I am very uncomfortable with your letter to Louis Touton about Joe Sims.

I think that Joe's contributions have been thoughtful and helpful, and I 
welcome them - even when I don't agree with him.  I don't see that he has been 
advocating anything in his messages - other than that we must take particular 
care to remember the by-laws and to make sure that our actions are consistent 
with the by-laws.

If I am missing something, and you believe that Joe is advocating some 
particular position that is inappropriate for him to do so, please be specific.

Thanks
Dennis

--------------------------------
Dennis Jennings
Dennis.Jennings@ucd.ie
Phone:  +353 87 220 8225 (Mobile)
Fax:  +353 1 495 1324

On Thursday, November 18, 1999 7:43 PM, KathrynKL@aol.com 
[SMTP:KathrynKL@aol.com] wrote:
> I have sent the following letter to Louis Touton and wanted to share it with
> you.
>
> Kathy Kleiman
> -------------------------
>   Mr. Louis Touton
>   General Counsel and Vice President of ICANN
>   November 18, 1999
>
>   Dear Mr. Touton:
>   As you know, parties involved with ICANN are in the process of
>   debating the role and powers of the General Assembly.  This is an
>   important debate for all DNSO participants, but particularly
>   for the individuals and small businesses who feel largely
>   disenfranchised by the constituency process.  The debate we have
>   and the decisions we make will strongly shape the long-term
>   participation of smaller parties in the GA, the DNSO and ICANN.
>
>   Much to my surprise, Joe Sims has been an active participant and
>   advocate in the Names Council debate on the General Assembly
>   issue.  In the past, Mr. Sims has played the more neutral role of
>   counsel to the Names Council, answering legal questions that we
>   raise regarding bylaws, procedures and deadlines.  On this issue, he
>   has turned into an active advocate regularly publishing messages to
>   the Names Council that outline his concerns about the directions of
>   the General Assembly and providing a roadmap for the Names
>   Council to take more control from the General Assembly.  I find
>   this advocacy role troubling.
>
>   As you know, Mr. Sims is a senior partner of the law firm of Jones
>   Day, one of the largest law firms in the world. This law firm
>   represents many of the most prominent corporations in the country,
>   and boasts on its website that it "acts as principle outside counsel
>   to, or provides significant legal representation for, more than half
>   of the Fortune 500 companies...."  This background naturally gives
>   rise to question of whether there are inherent conflicts between the
>   companies he/his firm represents and the large company vs. small
>   player disputes that are being played out in this names Council
>   debate.
>
>   While I recognize and value the contribution of Joe Sims to
>   ICANN, to the extent there are real or perceived conflicts, I believe
>   it is inappropriate that he play a continuing role in the
>   debates over the General Assembly.  Moreover, I question whether
>   it is appropriate for ICANN's outside counsel to be a participant
>   in substantive debates.   I bring this matter to your attention and
>   ask you to take the actions necessary to create a more
>   balanced and fair debate.  Thank you for your review.
>
>   Sincerely,
>   /s/ Kathryn Kleiman
>   Representative to the Names Council from the
>   Noncommercial Domain Name Holders Constituency