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Author: William A. Jacobson

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William A. Jacobson

William A. Jacobson is a Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Securities Law Clinic at Cornell Law School.

He is a 1981 graduate of Hamilton College and a 1984 graduate of Harvard Law School. At Harvard he was Senior Editor of the Harvard International Law Journal and Director of Litigation for the Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Project.

Prior to joining the Cornell law faculty in 2007, Professor Jacobson had a highly successful civil litigation and arbitration practice in Providence, Rhode Island, concentrating in investment, employment, and business disputes in the securities industry, including many high profile cases reported in leading newspapers and magazines.

Professor Jacobson has argued cases in numerous federal and state courts, including the Courts of Appeal for the First, Fifth and Sixth Circuits, and the Rhode Island Supreme Court.

Professor Jacobson has a national reputation as a leading practitioner in securities arbitration. He was Treasurer, and is a former member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association, a professional organization of attorneys dedicated to protecting public investors. He frequently is quoted in national media on issues related to investment fraud and investor protection, and in the past has served as one of a small number of private practice attorneys who trained new arbitrators for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

Professor Jacobson is co-author of the Securities Arbitration Desk Reference (Thomson-Reuters), updated annually.

Professor Jacobson is frequently quoted in the media on political and legal topics, has authored many Op-Eds in major publications, and appears on television and radio to discuss politics and the law.

A more complete listing of Professor Jacobson's professional background is available at the Cornell Law School website. The views expressed here are his own and not those of any employer or organization,

The best way to reach Prof. Jacobson is by e-mail here.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 06, 2013 35 Comments
One part of my communications with Brown Prof. Naoko Shibusawa has stuck in my mind:
"You can quote those two lines. Those only."
Shibusawa is the person featured in my post Tuesday night, Brown U. divestment committee faculty member signed 2009 letter calling Israel Apartheid state.  The post started by referencing her support for the Brown shout-down of Ray Kelly expressed in her Letter to the Editor of the Brown Daily Herald:
"... I want to point out that every movement toward social justice in U.S. history has included “misbehavior.” “Misbehavior” is a tactic of the disempowered toward disrupting the status quo.... So unlike [Biology Prof. Ken Miller who denounced the shout-down], I applaud the student protesters for their moral courage in a righteous cause against racial profiling and brutal police tactics and for their resolution in the face of the harsh criticisms they have since endured. I am proud of you. You inspire me to try to be a better teacher, scholar and person.
Shibusawa initially told me by phone “I don’t know what the purpose is [of my call] and what you want to do” and “I’ve checked out your blog.” She continued, that it “looks like you want to portray me as some sort of extremist” but “I believe in social justice.” Shibusawa then said, “You can describe me as extreme.” Fair enough.  But then the follow up email, telling me what I was allowed to say about the conversation (emphasis added):

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 06, 2013 43 Comments
Ace describes this as sort of true (quote from Daily Caller)
“Bobby Jindal and his political team totally blew it,” harrumphed one advisor for Ken Cuccinelli the morning after a closer-than-expected loss. Cuccinelli, who narrowly lost last night’s gubernatorial election to Terry McAuliffe, was badly outspent in the days and weeks leading up to the election. The New York Times‘ Jonathan Martin described Cuccinelli’s plight as having been “close to abandoned at the end.” He was. As Politico’s James Hohmann reported, ”The Republican National Committee spent about $3 million on Virginia this year, compared to $9 million in the 2009.” And as the Roanoke Times noted, in 2009, the Chamber of Commerce spent $973,000 on Bob McDonnell, but “[t]his year, the chamber gave Cuccinelli nothing.” But it was the Republican Governor’s Association (RGA) and chairman Bobby Jindal who drew the most ire from a Cuccinelli advisor I spoke to on Wednesday morning — this, despite the fact that the RGA spent millions on the race.
The gripe against the RGA is that it spent money on ads itself, rather than giving the money to the Cuccinelli campaign directly, as the Democratic Governors Association did for McAuliffe, who used the money to hammer a war on women strategy. These are details, details, details. The bigger issue with Republicans is that it's a one-way loyalty.  When an establishment candidate wins a primary, Tea Party and others are expected to fall in line.  And that did in fact happen with the Romney presidential campaign. But it doesn't work the other way around.  When an establishment/incumbent Republican loses a primary, there is no rallying around the insurgent nominee with any enthusiasm. That's not the way it works for Democrats.  First, there are few if any insurgents in the Democratic Party.  Once in a while you'll get a true progressive, but those are dwindling.  There is a greater homogeneity of thought in the Democratic Party.  And when you do get a whack job like Alan Grayson, Democrats circle the wagons instead of creating a circular firing squad as Republicans do. https://twitter.com/seanmdav/status/397915363444150272

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 06, 2013 17 Comments
A rare dose of sanity at Salon.com, Who will protect us? Why I’m still conflicted about guns as a black feminist:
I was 15 years old when my mother and I were robbed at gunpoint. It was 1982.... I don’t own a gun but I know plenty of educated black women who do. These are working- and middle-class women, some of them single and some with families, and  statistics support what I see. According to a National Shooting Sports Foundation report, 78.6 percent of retailers reported an increase in the number of women buying guns in 2012. Although a 2013 Pew research report reveals that gun ownership remains overwhelmingly white and male, black women made up the fastest growing purchasers of concealed handguns in Texas between the years 2007 and 2012. J. Victoria Sanders, a black Texan and journalist, reported this trend in a 2011 article detailing the increased marketing of guns to women and Sanders’ own journey toward gun ownership. This movement toward guns seems a rational decision for black women when you consider some of our experiences. Historically, black women have been left unprotected as a matter of law and custom, our bodies designated as commodities, used as “de mule uh de world” as Zora Neale Hurston wrote, and as sites for sexual violence and mockery. In an analysis of 2011 data, the Violence Policy Center reported that black women are murdered at rates three times that of white women and these murders usually involve a gun used by someone that the woman knows. Given these realities, some of us are pragmatic about self-defense. Even when we identify as feminist, as I do, we remain uncommitted to anti-gun feminism that erases our specific experience....

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 05, 2013 14 Comments
Our examination of the shout-down of Ray Kelly at Brown University has moved from the events that day to examining reaction of faculty, including from Political Science Professor Marion Orr who apologized for inviting Kelly, and Biology Professor Ken Miller who issued a forceful denunciation of the shout-down. Something interesting happened along the way, as more faculty went on record supporting the protests, if not the shout down. Post doctoral fellow and instructor Linda Quiquivix, who spoke on a panel discussion in favor of the protests, turned out to be a zealous critic of Israel, to put it very mildly.  In light of Quiquivix's background, I suggested that there may be a connection between supporters of the tactics used against Israel on campuses and those used against Kelly. It turns out that another faculty member who supported the shout-down also has a background in the Israel divestment movement.  More than that, she sits on the University advisory committee on social investing, which has taken up the Israel boycott issue at the behest of Brown's Students for Justice in Palestine. Naoko Shibusawa is a professor of history, specializing in "U.S. cultural history." [caption id="attachment_69998" align="alignnone" width="436"]Naoko Shibusawa Syria Forum 3 (Naoko Shibusawa)[/caption] In the wake of the Kelly shout-down, Shibusawa wrote a Letter to the Editor of The Brown Daily Herald on November 1, fully supporting the events that took place (emphasis added):

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 05, 2013 24 Comments

We have written many times before about Obama's obsession with wind power, despite the huge massacre of migratory bird populations, questionable technology, and doubtful economics. Via Tim Blair (h/t Iowahawk) come this poinent video of a German windmill falling down, and a description of the techincally...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 05, 2013 3 Comments
At first I assumed this was an anti-Bush bumper sticker. From Danelle:
Seen in North Texas

Bumper Stickers - North Texas - Cowboy White House left Bumper Stickers - North Texas - Cowboy White House right

But Danelle sent this link to the song Cowboy in The White House, and an article from 2003 about the song:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 04, 2013 10 Comments
I had to laugh listening to the audio of the NY Times Tehran Bureau Chief explaining away the intensified and widespread chants of Death to America on the streets of Tehran as not really meaning "Death to America" (h/t Althouse):
On this 34th anniversary of the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, thousands of Iranians gathered outside that building to once again chant "Death to America." But New York Times Bureau Chief Thomas Erdbrink told NPR's Steve Inskeep on Monday that though the shouts were the same as they've been since 1979 and the demonstration was larger than in recent years, the people he interviewed there were not virulently anti-American. "All the people I spoke with," Erbrink said, "didn't really mind Iran talking to the United States ... [and they] admitted they want to see some sort of solution" to three-plus decades of fractured relations.
I laughed not because the subject is funny, but because it reminded me of left-wing guru Professor Juan Cole from March 2009, insisting that when they chant Death to American in Iran, they really mean "could you get me a visa, I'd really like to visit Disneyland" (video below, at 3:08):

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 04, 2013 3 Comments

The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) is a valuable resource on which we frequently rely for news tips and information regarding the Middle East.  I'm not sure how I ended up on CAMERA's email update list, and I'm not even sure...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 04, 2013 64 Comments
Hey, remember when Nancy Pelosi triumphantly predicted that Obamacare would allow artists to have health insurance without worrying about their day jobs?
Think of an economy where people could be an artist or a photographer or, eh, a writer without worrying about keeping their day job in order to have health insurance....
Nancy Pelosi Helath Care Will Give up More of... by GWHH19 It's a dream come true, and you are subsidizing it, as this NY Times spotlight piece about two artists in Albequerque who quality for free Obamacare plans demonstrates:

NYT Artists free Obamacare

Elisabeth and Mark Horst, artists in Albuquerque who earn $24,000 a year between them, qualified for a zero-premium plan.

I have nothing against the Horsts. Living and painting in Albuquerque is a dream for many people. But why should the taxpayers have to subsidize what clearly is a lifestyle choice? The Horsts are not exactly uneducated or without choices in their lives. Here's a part of Mark Horst's bio at his art website:
Mark Horst grew up in small town Minnesota. He studied pottery and printmaking in high school and college, but his encounter with Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker led to years of very different work. After earning a Ph.D. in theology from Yale University, he spent time teaching and working toward neighborhood renewal in south Minneapolis. He pursued the craft of painting and drawing at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the New York Studio School. He lives in Albuquerque. If paint were a means of freezing time and protecting us from the dangerous life of the spirit, I would put down my brushes. But, for me, painting is a way of breaking time’s grip and setting loose something wild and strong.
Elizabeth also is highly educated and closed her psychology practice to paint:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 04, 2013 18 Comments
On June 16, 2009, in the earliest days of discussion about what form Obamacare would take, I wrote, Deception and Tyranny Key To Health Care Reform:
The only way the Obama administration and Democrats can force through the types of changes they envision for the health care system is through deception and tyranny. Honesty and freedom have no place in a system of national health care.
And now the deception and tyranny is being exposed for all to see.  You cannot keep your insurance plan and doctor, and administratively Obamacare is not ready for prime time.  Worse still, the dysfunctional nature of restructuring 1/6th of the economy is having ripple effects throughout the health care industry, with patients put at risk and doctors drafting exit plans. Meanwhile, the Editors of The NY Times are trying to wordsmith away Obama's clearly knowing false statement that people could keep their insurance plans by saying Obama "misspoke." Obama and his aides knew at the time that it was not accurate -- they even kicked around whether to make the statement. At least some other outlets are not playing the game. From NY Mag, this fairly comprehensive account of how many time that promise was made (h/t Twitchy): Meanwhile, CBS News reveals this morning that despite Obama's and Kathleen Sebekius's repeated assurances earlier this year that healthcare.gov was ready to go, there were clear and present warnings otherwise, Memo reveals health care adviser warned W.H. was losing control 3 years ago:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 04, 2013 2 Comments

From Amy: I recently moved from a purple district to a much redder one, where conservative bumper stickers are not so rare. Anyway, I saw this one in the Starbucks drive-thru. It doesn't say what he IS, but at least he's not a liberal. :-)...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 03, 2013 31 Comments

I have been following various faculty reactions to the Ray Kelly shout-down, including from Political Science Professor Marion Orr who apologized for inviting Kelly, and Biology Professor Ken Miller who issued a forceful denunciation of the shout-down. So when I saw an article in The Brown...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 03, 2013 42 Comments

Kirsten Powers in Christianity Today: Just seven years ago, if someone had told me that I'd be writing for Christianity Today magazine about how I came to believe in God, I would have laughed out loud. If there was one thing in which I was completely...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 03, 2013 69 Comments
The Revolt of the Kulaks Has Begun, February 22, 2009, just over a month after Obama's first inauguration:
In the end, as must all economic redistributors, Obama either will have to resort to repressive measures, or he will have to abandon his redistributive plans.
The great Obamacare reform is turning into the great thrust of tens of millions of people onto Medicaid. The problem is, fewer and fewer doctors are willing to take Medicaid patients because the reimbursements are so low. I have met numerous doctors who tell me they either refuse Medicaid patients or restrict them because the reimbursements do not cover their costs.  They also double and triple book, because so many Medicaid patients who make appointments don't show up.  As to Medicare the payments currently are bearable, but only because private insurance payments for other patients make up the shortfall. Increasingly, doctors are abandoning the government payment train wreck, and going all cash or some hybrid.  This all was foreseeable and was foreseen. The millions of new Medicaid patients will have insurance, just no doctors to see them.   That is a feature, not a glitch, to those who want single payer.  Obamacare is proceeding accordingly to plan. So this report (via @SissyWillis) is no surprise, Virginia Democrat Calls For Forcing Doctors To Accept Medicare And Medicaid Patients:
.... here is Kathleen Murphy, Democrat running for the House of Delegates against Barbara Comstock, telling a forum in Great Falls that she believes it should law to force doctors to accept Medicare and Medicaid patients. Forced by government decree, mind you. A birdie sent me this:
FYI last night at the Great Falls Grange debate, Democrat delegate candidate Kathleen Murphy said that since many doctors are not accepting medicaid and medicare patients, she advocates making it a legal requirement for those people to be accepted. She did not recognize that the payments are inadequate to cover the doctors' costs. She also did not recognize there is a shortage of over 45,000 physicians now and that it is forecast to be 90,000 in a few years.
Kerry Picket at Breitbart.com notes:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 02, 2013 46 Comments
In some countries, making fun of the President results in collective punishment I would not want to live in such a country. Oh, wait. At a Kentucky Hospital Halloween party some guy dressed like Obama in a straitjacket. Someone took offense. As a result, 750 people will get punished with mandatory diversity training, because diversity training has what to do with dressing like Obama for Halloween? No, you cannot keep your Obama Halloween costume even if you like it. Obama costume scares up controversy:
Hopkinsville, KY - - One Halloween costume is scaring up plenty of controversy along the Tennessee-Kentucky border. A person dressed as President Obama wearing a straitjacket is generating lots of complaints.... 1st Street Baptist Church Pastor C.E. Timberlake says it's wrong to portray any president that way. "I think it's very offensive and really that shouldn't have happened," Timberlake said. "There are other characters they could have dressed up and put a straitjacket other than the President of this country," Administrators of the hospital agree releasing a statement saying "no matter who the president is they deserve respect and honor." Joe turner is the Vice Chair of the Christian County Republican Party and he points out President Obama isn't the first to be made fun of on Halloween and believes this costume makes an amusing statement inside a hospital. "We see even still today Richard Nixon masks and George W Bush masks," Turner said.
Someone must be punished. Or better yet, everyone must be punished:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 02, 2013 2 Comments

But you knew that, because we have been following the antics of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for years. Erdogan blames the Jews for Egypt and he has video! (so do we) Turkish Deputy Prime Minister blames “Jewish Diaspora” for Gezi Park protests Turkish Prime Minister drops...

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