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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, 2011 8 Comments

So says a policeman speaking about the nightly violence and mayhem at Zuccotti Square and its surroundings, as quoted in The NY Post: “Every single night it’s the same thing. I mean, some guy was a victim of  rape!” an officer snarls. “There comes a time...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 06, 2011 15 Comments

Obama's mission is not yet completed.  He's said previously that's he's not even halfway towards where he want to take this country. Now Obama's released a video intended to inspire his supporters to give him four more years to finish the job, but a line in the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 06, 2011 4 Comments

Readers have been sending me great links, but the Politico Hunt for Herman distracted me the past few days (that was Politico's plan, of course, because there's only one of me and lots of them). So now I'll start catching up, in no particular order: From LukeHandCool,...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 06, 2011 26 Comments

Is it worth taking a look at Jon Huntsman, who I long ago dismissed as a media creation and someone who filled space at the debates, with an "if I wanted to vote for Mitt Romney I'd vote for Mitt Romney" attitude? What got me thinking about...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 06, 2011 14 Comments

William Kristol writes: For every American conservative, not once but whenever he wants it, it’s always the evening of November 4, 1980, the instant when we knew Ronald Reagan, the man who gave the speech in the lost cause of 1964, leader of the movement since 1966,...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 06, 2011 14 Comments

banning signage on trucks other than the name and logo of the company, although waivers will be issued to companies whose executives donate to Obama which can demonstrate hardship, in the discretion of the Secretary of Transportation? Thanks to Michael from Constant Conservative who took this photo...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 05, 2011 10 Comments

The debate between Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich is scheduled for 90 minutes starting at 8 p.m. Eastern.  We will have an embed if available, or you can open a separate window for The Right Scoop or C-SPAN. To comment in the live feed please register...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 05, 2011 7 Comments

HillaryIs44 has a good post on the Obama-lovin' media and how it covers for Obama's campaign dirty tricks. The post is in response to this statement by Ben Smith at Politico: If the catchphrase weren’t already taken, you could call Barack Obama’s signature style of negative politics...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 05, 2011 22 Comments

Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich are having a Lincoln-Douglas style debate tonight in Texas, starting at 8 p.m. Eastern. I'll be doing a live blog for it, and I'll try to embed the C-Span live coverage, if that is possible (I don't think it's possible, so...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 05, 2011 5 Comments

That Memeorandum algorithm is smart, really smart.  It not only finds the blog posts and stories which drive the debate, it also pulls a snippet of text from the post so readers get a sense of what's really important in the story. And in the case...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 05, 2011 13 Comments

After spending a week portraying Herman Cain as a sexual predator, allegations which so far have resulted in NO FACTS sustantiating the innuendo, Politico now wants to be fair and balanced and tell us that Cain actually led industry efforts to fight sexual harassment, Under...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 05, 2011 5 Comments

As you know, next week is a crucial vote on Referendum No. 2 in Ohio, which needs to pass in order to put the collective bargaining reform bill into effect.  Polling does not look good.  There also is another referendum on education reform. Thanks to a...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 04, 2011 25 Comments

I really don't want this to turn into one of those foul-mouthed blogs, but this is pushing me to the limit: Asked if the country’s consistently high unemployment rate made him vulnerable in the upcoming 2012 election, Obama insisted “the least of my concerns at the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 04, 2011 27 Comments

The woman who accused Herman Cain of something and got a check from the National Restaurant Association is refusing to provide any details of her complaint even though the NRA released her from her confidentiality agreement. I repeat.  The woman will not provide any facts or...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 04, 2011 24 Comments

That's the word I'm hearing.  Even though the National Restaurant Association was willing to waive the confidentiality agreement. Updates:  CNN reports: Joel Bennett, the attorney for one the women who has accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment, said Friday that his client "made a complaint in good...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 04, 2011 21 Comments

So many are calling Cain a liar or worse for not remembering a second settlement with a woman whom he allegedly "sexually harassed."  How could he not know of a settlement? Details are dribbling out which support the conclusion that Cain was not involved and would...

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