[ga] Letter to L.Touton

[Dori Kornfeld <kornfeld@epic.org>]

Kathy Kleiman has sent the following letter to Louis Touton and asked me to
share it with you.

-Dori Kornfeld

>-------------------------
>  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
>