MediaWiki System Administrators

A. About Us

B. Characteristics We Seek

C. Personal Responsibility

D. Personal Computers

E. Commercial Bank Financing

F. Location Does Not Matter

G. Please Read

H. When You Apply

I. If You Are Interested

A. About Us

Juris Informatica publishes legal Web sites, sites that discuss particular legal topics. We also partner with other legal Web sites that place our Web forms and (800) telephone numbers on their site. Our sites and these affiliated sites produce leads from prospective clients, which we then screen to determine if they have a viable case. If they do, we refer the prospective client to a suitable attorney in their area, in exchange for an introduction fee from that attorney.

In the next 24 months, we expect to have over 1000 affiliated Web sites, with a typical such site introducing us to 20 to 50 actual cases a year (cases as opposed to leads). Accordingly, within two years we expect be handling approximately 30,000 cases a year. Our business is extremely lucrative, as legal cases can generate a lot of legal fees. For example, we recently landed a toxic mold case with over 1000 clients to be represented both individually and through a class action, with a settlement value in excess of $20 million; we will receive about 11 percent of that, and that is just one case. Using some very conservative assumptions, we expect to be generating over $100 million in revenues. For further information, see about our company.

Some of the sites we will be launching will be wikis and thus we are looking for a couple of really good MediaWiki administrator.

We are also looking for someone who will serve as the manager of the wiki. Ideally they would have some experience with wikis and MediaWiki in particular, but they do not need to be as technical as the systems administrator.

B. Characteristics We Seek

Ideal background includes:

Knows MediaWiki well
Knows how to program in PHP
Excellent oral and written communication skills

C. Personal Responsibility

We seek to partner with and employ people who are “at the top of the food chain” in terms of personal responsibility and follow through. You must have a high level of personal responsibility. You do what you say you are going to do, you meet deadlines (or at least be reasonably close, since there really are no absolute deadlines in this business), and you are the furthest thing from a flake. You are diligent at returning e-mails and telephone calls not promptly, but quickly. We are highly successful entrepreneurs who get things done and we have zero (actually, negative) tolerance for flakes and space cadets. Please read our CEO’s essays on total cost of interaction, most appropriate form of communication, and the process should go smoothly, as well as his essay for prospective business associates.

D. Personal Computers

We are exceptionally advanced users of computers. Our Chief Technology Officer, Keith MacKay, is a graduate of MIT and has managed over 1000 software development projects, including more than a dozen for Microsoft and more than 90 for Harvard Business School. Our CEO, James Mitchell, was a senior software engineer at Digital Equipment Corporation and had a research fellowship in information systems at Harvard Business School. Our software developers are among the best in the world. For our Web sites, we typically use WordPress running on the LAMP (Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP) software stack. For our internal information systems, we use Microsoft tools: Windows Server, SQL Server, .Net, Visual Basic, Access. We have developed some of the most sophisticated software systems in the world. We do not expect or require all of our professionals to be software developers, but we do expect them to have a strong aptitude for computers, have a high level of intellectual curiosity about them, and to be keenly interested in enhancing their computer skills.

Applicants who are not computer proficient regularly assure us, “I can learn them.” Our experience has been otherwise. Let’s assume that one starts to be exposed to computers at age 15 and you are now 25. You’ve had 10 years of exposure, 10 years to become really good at using them. If after 10 years you are not really good, it probably means either (i) you are not inherently interested in them, or (ii) you simply do not have the talent (most people do not). Either way, we are not the right firm for you. Realistically you will not be able to meet our expectations for computer proficiency and it will be a frustrating (and short) experience for both of us. Every time we have gone down the “I am not good at computers now but I can become good quickly” path we have regretted it.

If on the other hand you are really good at using computers and you want to become an expert, JI would be a fantastic company for you! You will be working with some of the top software minds in the world, and we will show you things you have never imagined.

We use Microsoft Office 2007 and 2010 (Word, Access, Outlook) extensively; please read our page on Microsoft Office. You will need either a PC running Windows or a Macintosh that runs Windows. If you are a Mac user, please read our page for Macintosh users.

In the “If You Are Interested” section below, we ask numerous questions about your use of computers. Please do not let these questions intimidate you. As we mention below, there is probably no one on the planet who can provide a favorable response to all (or even most) of them. The comprehensive set of questions we ask does allow us (and you) to get an overall sense of how good you are at using computers.

E. Commercial Bank Financing

One of the downsides of our business is that cases often take a long time to turn into cash — sometimes as long as three or four years. Most people that we might partner with cannot afford to work this long. We have just begun the process of identifying and negotiating with several large commercial banks which will provide senior debt financing. Each actual case (i.e., an engagement agreement has been signed by the client and the law firm) is valued by the commercial bank and then the bank advances a percentage of the estimated value of the case. The bank holds back enough to cover the approximately one-third of cases that do not pan out, plus the time value of money. We expect to have this bank financing in place sometime in July 2010.

After that point, we will be offering two compensation plans. The first provides a base salary each month plus commissions, with the base salary being a draw against commissions. The second would be commission only. The first plan will be available only those who work full-time, while the second will be available to both those who work full-time and those who work part-time.

F. Location Does Not Matter

This is a telecommuting situation so you can live anywhere. We will consider applicants who live in the United States and Canada. In certain circumstances, we will consider applicants who lives abroad, even though our experience has not as been as favorable as with Americans. If you currently live in India, we are sorry, but we cannot consider your application, as we have had so many unfavorable experiences. (If you are an Indian living in the U.S. or Canada, we welcome your application.)

G. Please Read

If you are interested in this position, please read:

H. When You Apply

When you apply:

Please include the questions along with the answers; otherwise, we have no way of knowing which question you are answering. If you do not, we will simply write back and ask you to resend.
Please format your responses. Make it easy for us to read your answers. The best is to copy and paste the answers and responses into Microsoft Word, and then send us the Word file.
Please include the headings in your responses.
Please send us a resume.
If you have a writing samples, please send them.
In the subject line of the your e-mail, please include the position you are applying for.
Please send your response to jmitchell@kensingonllc.com, and also send it (including any attachments) to recruiting@kensingtonllc.com.

I. If You Are Interested

Many of the questions listed below are computer questions. JI is an exceptionally advanced user of computers, and it’s important that every professional who joins our firm is highly competent in using them and is keenly interested in becoming more proficient. We have included an extremely comprehensive set of questions. There is probably no person alive who could truthfully provide a favorable response to all of them, not even our Chief Technology Officer. Please do not let these questions scare you, we do not expect favorable responses from you to most of these questions. We have included all of them in order to get a comprehensive view of your computers skills. At the same time, after reading these questions, you might say to yourself, “Realistically, I am not very good at computers.” In that case, it makes absolutely no sense to apply, as we are simply the wrong firm for you.

If “(1-10)” is listed after the question, that means please provide an answer in English and also answer the question on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 = no experience or knowledge and 10 = world class guru.

If for any section you do not use that software package, just say that in your answer to the first question and then feel free to ignore the remaining questions in that section.

In your e-mail, please tell us:

Name and Contact Information

What is your full name?
What is your e-mail address?
Do you have any other e-mail addresses? If so, what are they?
Please list all of your telephone numbers.
Which telephone number is best to call you on? As noted below, please state this in your local time and in Boston time.
Do you have Skype?
If so, what is your Skype ID? (If you live outside the United States, please install Skype (www.skype.com) now (ideally before you fill out this form), so that when we want to call you after receiving your e-mail, we can do so.
Where do you live (city, state, country)?
What is your address?
James Mitchell lives in Boston, and Boston is the same time zone as New York City, namely the East Coast time zone. When it is 9 a.m. in Boston, what time is it in your time zone? In other words, how many hours ahead or behind Boston are you?

Education and Professional Training

Briefly describe your education. If you have sent us a resume, then you can just refer us to your that.
Which professional organizations, if any, are you a member of?
Which Web sites and blogs topics do you read for professional purposes?
What other forms of professional development do you engage in, if any?

Skills

How strong are your oral communication skills? (1-10)
How good of a writer are you? (1-10)
How detail oriented are you? (1-10)

David Allen

Have your read James’ essay on David Allen?
How interested are you in learning and implementing David Allen’s system? (1-10)

Personal Responsibility

We are looking for professionals with an exceptionally high level of personal responsibility. Please tell us your thoughts about how this applies to you.
We are looking for professionals who are self-managing. How does this apply to you?

Responsiveness

How easy is it to reach you on the telephone? In other words, if 100 people call you in X days, what percentage of them are able to reach you when they call, as opposed to your calling back?
How quickly do you return telephone calls?
How quickly do you respond to e-mails?
We will most likely need to talk with you at least once a day. What are your thoughts about that?
We are looking for professionals with an exceptionally low total cost of interaction. How does this apply to you?

Personal Computers

Do you have your own PC (as opposed to using one at work or at a library, for example)?
When did you purchase it?
How much RAM do you have?
How many monitors do you have connected to your PC?
Tell us about your computer skills. (1-10)
How often, if ever, do friends of yours ask you for computer advice? (1-10)
If you have a Macintosh and you do not have a PC, are you able to run Windows on your Mac? Do you have to boot your computer to switch operating systems or are you able to run both operating systems simultaneously? Which program are you running to run both OS X and Windows?
If you have a Mac, have you read our page for Macintosh users?

LAMP

What does the acronym “LAMP” stand for?
How well do you know Linux? (1-10)
Which Linux control panel (e.g., cPanel) do you use?
How well do you know Apache? (1-10)
How well do you know MySQL? (1-10)
How well do you know PHPMyAdmin? (1-10)
Do you know how to program in PHP? (1-10)

Computer Programming

How much computer programming have you done? (1-10)
Which computer programming languages have you used? How good are you at each one of them? (1-10)
For how many years have you programmed computers? In which year did you start?
If you are not currently programming in a programming language, in which year did you last use any programming language?
What is your favorite programming language and why?

Source Control and Quality Assurance / Testing

How much experience do you have with Subversion (the version control software package)? (1-10) One member of our team needs to act as the Subversion systems administrator. Do you have the skills to do that? Would you be willing to do that?
How good are you at testing and quality control? (1-10) At least one member of our team needs to be in charge of testing and quality control. Do you have the skills to do that? Would you be willing to do that?

The Internet and the Web

What kind of Internet connection do you have (e.g., cable, DSL)?
How fast is your Internet connection?
How reliable is your Internet connection?
Do you have your computer connected to the Internet via a wired connection (such as Ethernet), or do you use a wireless connection?
Which browser are you using?
Do you know what a top level domain is?
What does “http” stand for?
Do you own any domain names, and if so, which one?
Which domain name registrar do you use? Why do you use them?

Web Design

How well do you understand Web design? (1-10)
Have you ever designed a Web site?
If so, how many? Please provide the URLs.
How well do you know HTML? (1-10)
Are you aware of the features that have been added to HTML 5? (1-10)
Do you know how to write a hyperlink from scratch, using the HTML href tag? (1-10)
How well do you know CSS? (1-10)
How well do you know CSS positioning (the box model)? (1-10)
How well do you know XML? (1-10)
How much experience do you have in programming Javascript? (1-10)
How well do you know Adobe Dreamweaver? (1-10)
Other than Dreamweaver and WordPress, are there any other software packages you use for Web design or layout and/or as a content management system (“CMS”)?
How well do you know Adobe Photoshop? (1-10)
How well do you know Adobe Flash? (1-10)

MediaWiki

How well do you know MediaWiki? (1-10)
For how many years have you been using MediaWiki? (1-10)
Please tell us briefly what you are doing currently professionally (or did professionally) and how MediaWiki is involved with your job.
For which wikis are you the systems administrator (or otherwise involved with)? Please include the URLs and your role for each site.
Are there any extensions to MediaWiki that you have used? If so, which ones?
Have you programmed any extensions to MediaWiki? Would you be able to?
Have you written any skins for MediaWiki? Would you be able to?
For our legal wikis, we would like to prevent anonymous users from posting (as opposed to reading) comments? How would you implement that?
How much have you looked at the source code for MediaWiki?
Are there any books on MediaWiki that you would recommend?
Are there any Web sites or blogs on MediaWiki that you would recommend?
Have you used any other wiki software packages? If so, which ones?

WordPress

How well do you know WordPress (“WP”)? (1-10)
Which version of WP are you using?
For how many years have you used WP? In which year did you start using it?
Are you currently using WP? If not, in which year did you stop using it?
Do you know how to automatically update your version of WP? (1-10)
Which WP plugins do you like?
Which WP themes do you like?
Do you have any experience with the Thesis theme? (1-10)
Do you understand the WP loop? (1-10)
Do you know how to program in PHP? (1-10)
Do you know how to modify a theme? (1-10)
Do you know how to write a WP theme? (1-10)
Do you know how to modify the code in a WP plugin? (1-10)
Do you know how to write a WP plugin? (1-10)
Have you setup a WP blog/site from scratch? (Using a script such as Fantastico is acceptable.) (1-10)
Which blogs about WordPress do you read, if any?

Search Engine Optimization

How much do you know about search engine optimization (“SEO”)? (1-10)
Which programs do you use for keyword discovery? (1-10)
How well do you know Google Analytics? (1-10)
Which traffic measure services do you use (e.g., Compete.com, Quantcast)?
Have you read Aaron Wall’s SEO Book?
Excluding black hat techniques, are there any SEO techniques you think are particularly clever?
Which SEO blogs, if any, do you read?

Microsoft Windows

Is your computer running Microsoft Windows?
If so, do you have a PC or are you have a Mac that can run Windows?
Which version of Windows are you running (e.g., XP, Vista, Seven)?
Which edition of Windows are you running (e.g., Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, Ultimate)?
Are you running 32 or 64 bit Windows?
How often do you use the Command Prompt?
How familiar are you with Windows PowerShell? (1-10)
Do you know how to add or remove programs from the Startup folder? (1-10)
Do you use any text editor other than Notepad? If so, which one?
Do you use any file manager other than Windows Explorer? If so, which one?
If you had a program and were unable to close it through the “normal” way, would you be able to close the program using Ctrl + Alt + Delete?
How familiar are you with the Windows Control Panel? (1-10)
How much experience do you have in editing the Windows registry? (1-10)

Microsoft Office

Which version of Microsoft Office are you using (e.g., 2003, 2007, 2010)?
Are you running Office on a PC or a Mac?
When did you start using Office?
If you are not currently using Office on a regular basis, when did you stop doing so?
Have you read our page on Microsoft Office?
Does your version of Office include Microsoft Outlook?
Does your version of Office include Microsoft Access?
Have you recorded Visual Basic for Applications (“VBA”) modules in Office? (1-10)
Have you written VBA modules in Office? (1-10)

Microsoft Word

Which version of Microsoft Word are you using (e.g., 2003, 2007, 2010)?
Are you using Word on a PC or a Mac?
How well do you know Word? (1-10)
For how many years have you used Word? In which year did you start using it?
Are you currently using Word? If not, in which year did you stop using it?
How well do you know how to use styles in Word? (1-10)
Do you know the differences between the three types of hyphens? (1-10)
Do you know the differences between the three types of page breaks? (1-10)
Do you know the differences between the four types of section breaks? (1-10)
How well do you know how to use sequences (a type of field code)? (1-10)
How well do you know how to use bookmarks? (1-10)
How well do you know how to use cross references using sequences and bookmarks (1-10)
How well do you know how to use mail merge? (1-10)
Do you know how to create a custom dictionary (for spell checking)? (1-10)
How well do you know how to use track changes (aka blacklining)? (1-10)
How well do you know how to use compare documents? (1-10)
Do you know how to insert a hyperlink in Word? (1-10)
Do you know how to insert footnotes and endnotes? (1-10)
Do you know how to change views (e.g., go to Draft view to Print Layout view to Outline view)? (1-10)
Do you know how to customize the ribbon in Word? (1-10)
How much experience do you have in recording Visual Basic for Applications (“VBA”) modules in Word? (1-10)
How much experience do you have in writing VBA modules in Word? (1-10)
Unless you already are an advanced user of Word, we will probably ask you to read a comprehensive book on Word, such as Special Edition Using Microsoft Word 2007. How do you feel about that?
In general, how interested are you in becoming highly proficient in Word?

Microsoft Access

Which version of Microsoft Access are you using (e.g., 2003, 2007, 2010)?
How well do you know Access ? (1-10)
For how many years have you used Access? In which year did you start using it?
Are you currently using Access? If not, in which year did you stop using it?
Do you know how to create tables in Access (i.e., column definitions)? (1-10)
In defining tables, how many different data types have you used?
Do you understand the relationship between a parent table and a child table (i.e., one-to-many table relationships)? (1-10)
What would an autonumber field/column be used for?
Do you know how to create a query in Access? (1-10)
Do you know how to create a report in Access? (1-10)
In creating a query, do you know how to link two or more tables to each other? (1-10)
In linking two tables, do you know the difference between an inner vs. outer join (i.e., and vs. or)? (1-10)
Do you know how to create a query upon a query? (1-10)
Have you ever created an update query? (1-10)
Using the wizard, do you know how to create a form in Access? (1-10)
Do you know how to create a subform in Access? (1-10)
In creating a form, have you used the radio button control? (1-10)
In creating a form, have you used the check box control? (1-10)
Using the wizard, do you know how to create a report in Access? (1-10)
Do you know how to create a report from scratch in Access? (1-10)
In creating reports, do you know how to use sorting and grouping? (1-10)
In creating reports, do you know how to use subtotals per group? (1-10)
Have you used macros in Access (e.g., Access macros as opposed to VBA modules)? (1-10)
Have you written Visual Basic for Applications (“VBA”) macros in Access? (1-10)
If you are not highly proficient in Access, we may want you to read a book such as Microsoft Office Access 2007 Forms, Reports and Queries. How do you feel about that?
In general, how interested are you in becoming highly proficient in Access?

Microsoft SQL Server

How much experience do you have using Microsoft SQL Server? (1-10)
How much experience do you have using Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio (or Management Studio Express)? (1-10)
In creating a table, do you know how to define a column as the primary key? (1-10)
In creating a table, do you know how to specify a column as a autonumbered column (e.g., identity specification) (1-10)?
In creating a table, do you know how to write computed column specifications? (1-10)
How much experience do you have in writing Transact-SQL statements? (1-10)
How experienced are you in writing stored procedures? (1-10)
How experienced are you in writing triggers? (1-10)

Microsoft .Net

How much experience do you have using Microsoft .Net? (1-10)
Which version of .Net are you using (e.g., 3.5, 4.0)?
How much experience do you have using Microsoft Visual Studio (“VS”)? (1-10)
Which version of VS are you using (e.g., 2005, 2008, 2010)?
For how many years have you used VS? In which year did you start using it?
Are you currently using VS? If not, in which year did you stop using it?
How much experience do you have programming Microsoft Visual Basic.Net (“VB.Net”)? (1-10)
For how many years have you used VB.Net? In which year did you start using it?
Are you currently using VB.Net? If not, in which year did you stop using it?
Are there other .Net languages that you have programmed in? If so, which ones? How well do you know them? Are you currently using them? If not, when did you stop using them? (1-10)

Commitment You Can Make to Juris Informatica

Are you currently employed?
How many hours per week are you currently working in your current job?
If so, are you planning on continuing with your current position, or would you quit your job to work with us?
If you will be quitting your position, how much notice do you need to give?
How soon would you be able to start?
Once you start, for the first 90 days, how many hours a week are you able to devote to this opportunity?
After those 90 days, how many hours a week will you be able to provide?
We want to get a sense of when you would be able to work, stated in both your time and in Boston time. Monday through Friday, when would you be able to work and for how many hours each day? Again, please state both your local time and Boston time.
On Saturdays and Sundays, when will be you able to work and for how many hours each day? Please state in your local time as well as Boston time.
Are you looking for a short-term, medium-term or long-term relationship with JI? How long can you commit to working with us?
Please tell us about family commitments. If you have kids, who takes care of them? Are there other relatives (e.g., parents) that you take care of?
What else is going on in your life? Hobbies? Board memberships? What other commitments do you have?

Salary History and Earnings Expectations

Please provide your salary history for the past five years, broken down into base salary, bonus, commission, and any other categories you think are relevant.
How much a month do you need to live on?
How much would you realistically like to make 12 months from now?
24 months from now?
36 months from now?

Miscellaneous

Is there anything else we should know about you?
Any comments you have on our idea?
Which topics for new legal Web sites do you think would be particularly worthwhile?
Are there any areas of the law, particularly in the area of mass torts, that you think we should be paying particular attention to?
Do you have a blog or Web site? “You” means yourself or a company that you control. If so, what is the URL?
What questions should we have asked but did not?
If we or one of our associates sent you an e-mail through LinkedIn, there was a nine digit number towards the end of the e-mail, immediate after their name. It would be in the format of 100-029-987, or something like that. Please list that number if you can find it in the e-mail we sent to you. If you cannot find it, do not worry about it.

Have You Sent Us

Have you sent us a chronological resume?
Have you sent us writing samples?

We will respond to every inquiry with 48 hours. Our founders have an impressive track record in starting, managing and selling businesses successfully. We are kick ass, get things done type of people and by the end of 2011, we expect to have more than 1000 affiliated Web sites, with another 500 added in 2012. For the right person, this could be an extraordinary opportunity.

We look forward to hearing from you!

James Mitchell
jmitchell@kensingtonllc.com
(781) 718-1301
www.jmitchell.me