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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.

that's what they all say. From J, "Subaru Rebel" On a Subaru with Virginia plates. ...

A reader writes: In White-liberal white-baiting link-baiting gone wild you mentioned this: Make an outlandish statement about White people. Watch White people react in denial. Use denial reaction as proof you were right all along. There's a word for this logical Fallacy. It's called Kafkatrapping. In short it takes the form...

Not the indecision and delayed decision about the use of force in Syria. The Golf immediately after the Rose Garden statement. Right after shipping responsibility for authorizing an attack on Syria, President Barack Obama returned to his comfort zone: The golf course. Obama’s motorcade left the White House at...

Now that you have had all of about 6 hours to digest Obama's decision to seek authorization from Congress for use of force in Syria in response to the Syrian government's use of chemical weapons, let's get some quick reader feedback. The poll is open until...

For continuing coverage, Syria Attack Watch. Full text here. UPDATE: Obama says has decided on military action, doesn't need U.N. Security Council or Congress, BUT will seek congressional authorization anyway: https://twitter.com/ByronYork/status/373890688737640448 https://twitter.com/DamaineGorman/status/373865608133095425 https://twitter.com/amadeusulrich/status/373865790656626688 https://twitter.com/PhillipSmyth/status/373865925629321216

We will update this post throughout the day, in reverse chronological order, with most recent updates at top. If there actually is an attack, we'll start a new thread with video embeds, etc. For now there are two Twitter feeds at the bottom of this post, one I created using reliable sources, and another raw #Syria hashtag feed. BREAKING - Obama says has decided to take military action, doesn't need U.N. Security Council or Congress, BUT will seek congressional approval: Really Chuck Todd, really? https://twitter.com/LegInsurrection/status/373868206969999360 More reactions at Obama statement on Syria and also below: https://twitter.com/ByronYork/status/373890688737640448 https://twitter.com/PhillipSmyth/status/373865925629321216 https://twitter.com/Bridget_PJM/status/373866389045407744 https://twitter.com/jpodhoretz/status/373866895201427456 https://twitter.com/repjustinamash/status/373866418015858688 https://twitter.com/davidaxelrod/status/373871738032910336

Obama wants to fix the Higher Education Bubble. You're not done saving Detroit, please leave us alone: I've got it: If we have too many lawyers already, let's figure out a way to churn them out faster at lower cost so more people apply which increases the oversupply.  It worked so well with the housing market: Actually, I have a better idea.  Let's reduce presidential terms to two years instead of four, retroactively, so Presidents can make it to the lecture circuit without running up as much national debt. Please tell me "Yes he can" ... ah, that feels better: Now we juxtapose: Language Warning

From J: BORG: Resistance Is Futile With the Obama O in the middle. Perfect. Spotted on a car from the People's Collective of Maryland, traveling through People's Democratic Republic of Charlottesville, VA. ...

One of my former students has an excellent Op-ed in The NY Times. Hoorah! https://twitter.com/LegInsurrection/status/373511500880556032 Defenders of this technology will say that no one has a legitimate expectation of privacy in public. But as surveillance technology improves, the distinction between public spaces and private spaces becomes less meaningful....

U.S. declassified report on Syrian use of chemical weapons. (Embedded at bottom of post.)
U.S. Government Assessment A large body of independent sources indicates that a chemical weapons attack took place in the Damascus suburbs on August 21. In addition to U.S. intelligence information, there are accounts from international and Syrian medical personnel; videos; witness accounts; thousands of social media reports from at least 12 different locations in the Damascus area; journalist accounts; and reports from highly credible nongovernmental organizations.... We assess with high confidence that the Syrian government carried out the chemical weapons attack against opposition elements in the Damascus suburbs on August 21. We assess that the scenario in which the opposition executed the attack on August 21 is highly unlikely. The body of information used to make this assessment includes intelligence pertaining to the regime’s preparations for this attack and its means of delivery, multiple streams of intelligence about the attack itself and its effect, our post-attack observations, and the differences between the capabilities of the regime and the opposition. Our high confidence assessment is the strongest position that the U.S. Intelligence Community can take short of confirmation. We will continue to seek additional information to close gaps in our understanding of what took place.
https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss/status/373490321079816193 https://twitter.com/MahirZeynalov/status/373490512725938177

As critical as I have been and continue to be of Obama's foreign policy, particularly in the Middle East, I have a great unease with the schadenfreude being experienced in many corners over the vote in the British House of Commons refusing to take the...

From Peter, a photo taken in Vineyard Haven, Mass. (on Martha's Vineyard) on State Road just before Main St.: Now they expect him to save the planet! From Martha’s Vineyard in the afterglow aftermath of another Obama vacation. There were quite a few of these signs in the...

The House of Commons is debating intervention in Syria right now. Watch LIVE Replay of full debate: Update 5:50 (h/t Drudge): UK Prime Minister Cameron loses Syria war vote: British Prime Minister David Cameron has lost a vote endorsing military action against Syria by 13 votes, a...

ABC News conducted an extensive interview of Shellie Zimmerman this morning. In a wide-ranging interview conducted by investigative freelance journalist Christi O'Connor, Zimmerman said on the evening Martin died she was staying elsewhere because the couple had got in an argument the night before and that...