diff --git a/ietf/utils/listop.py b/ietf/utils/listop.py
index 7a446969e..bd9e0c149 100644
--- a/ietf/utils/listop.py
+++ b/ietf/utils/listop.py
@@ -3,11 +3,17 @@ import operator
 def orl(list):
     """ Return the "or" of every element in a list.
     Used to generate "or" queries with a list of Q objects. """
-    return reduce(operator.__or__, list)
-
+    if list:
+        return reduce(operator.__or__, list)
+    else:
+        return None
+        
 def flattenl(list):
     """ Flatten a list one level, e.g., turn
 	[ ['a'], ['b'], ['c', 'd'] ] into
 	[ 'a', 'b', 'c', 'd' ]
     """
-    return reduce(operator.__concat__, list)
+    if list:
+        return reduce(operator.__concat__, list)
+    else:
+        return []
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