Image 01 Image 03
Sign In or RegisterLogout

Author: William A. Jacobson

Profile photo

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 October 26, 2011 5 Comments

Via Taegen Goddard:President Obama "stopped for an undisclosed meeting with some of the entertainment industry's high-level executives" before leaving California yesterday, according to the Hollywood Reporter."The event was not a fundraiser, and attendees were not asked to donate to the Obama reelection campaign. But those...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 26, 2011 31 Comments

A friend writes: I'm sure you've been following Romney's latest flip-flop, in which he supported Kasich's anti-union initiative in June but today traveled to Ohio and claimed he wasn't familiar with the referendum.  It's just too much.  The guy disgusts me, and frankly I just don't...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 26, 2011 5 Comments

Thanks to reader Glenn who spotted this in Woodlands, Texas, and sent me an e-mail with the subject line "Is dissent still patriotic?": Spotted while stopped at a red light in the Woodlands, TX. The driver went on to turn left (go figure.) I'm sure these are...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 25, 2011 18 Comments

Traveling all day, now in Palm Desert, CA.  Because there's almost no way to get there from central New York, we ended up flying into Orange County airport and driving.  Along the way we saw these windfarms -- Obama would so proud: From some sneak peeks...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 25, 2011 17 Comments

Walter Shapiro on the risk that the GOP Just Might Nominate [Herman Cain] a Candidate Patently Unqualified to Be President: This is how presidential vetting traditionally works. The press pack pounces on the logical fallacies in a candidate’s positions and the shakiness of his resume. Party...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 25, 2011 6 Comments

John Podesta, former Clinton ally and confidant, built the Center for American Progress -- which runs Think Progress -- into a potent, misleading and devious message machine in favor of the Obama administration. Podesta is stepping down, and is being replaced by Neera Tanden, a former Obama...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 25, 2011 16 Comments

TaxProf is out with the rankings of law professor blogs for the trailing 12 months as of September 30, 2011, and we are no. 3 both for page views and visits.  (Note: Instapundit is not included since its stats are not public, so really we're...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 25, 2011 19 Comments

This ad by the Cain campaign is being called one of the worst political ads ever. I disagree. Sure it's different.  I'm at the airport this morning, and a female anchor on CNN previewed the ad by saying, "I don't know what it means!"  But we're talking...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 25, 2011 7 Comments

Or at least, not fast and furiously. Thanks to reader Ric who spotted this bumper sticker earlier this week in Sterling, VA: ...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 24, 2011 25 Comments

The Rick Perry campaign gets a much needed reorganization,  but does this advice hold, Perry shuffles campaign team: The first thing [Joe] Allbaugh ought to do is send Perry to Dallas to apologize for badmouthing W. all over the country. I believe that we will see...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 24, 2011 5 Comments

Another day, another failed Obama attempt to dominate Twitter with a campaign-inspired hastag (see, #attackwatch). This time the hastag is #WeCantWait as in "we can't wait" for Republicans to approve whatever half-baked scheme Obama wants to push through Congress to prove that he is the "jobs...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 24, 2011 41 Comments

Several readers have called my attention to the National Popular Vote movement, through which various states would agree to vote their electors as a block based upon the winner of the national popular vote: Under the U.S. Constitution, the states have exclusive and plenary (complete) power...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 24, 2011 13 Comments

As mentioned earlier, the Obama administration and media are touting Gaddafi's overthrow as a great foreign policy victory. But Gaddafi's body has hardly gone cold, and Libya already has a strict Islamist government, see all the links at Memeorandum.  Andrew Sullivan also rounds up some of the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 24, 2011 9 Comments

Creating a centralized electronic medical record is one of the primary goals of the Obama administration (and Bush before that, although not funded) under the theory that a centralized record will lead to greater efficiencies. Don't worry, your centralized medical records will be safe. Unless, of course, someone working...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 24, 2011 3 Comments

Since Joe Biden's play of the rape card did not work in getting the Senate to pass Obama's new stimulus package, Biden may need to come up with a new strategy.  Rumor has it that Biden will resurrect National Lampoon magazine: (Based on this original, for those of you who are too young...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 24, 2011 4 Comments

At Obama campaign headquarters in downtown Chicago they can hear shouts of "OMG WTF" and "How's that 'Hope & Change' thing working out for you?," like the sound of slowly rumbling thunder just over the horizon. Thanks to reader Norbie who spotted this in Elgin, Illinois, not far from Chicago,...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 23, 2011 23 Comments

The Wisconsin recall effort against Scott Walker gets started in three weeks, and guess what, Dems may go after more Republican state senator!  The punchy Director of Communications of the WI Democratic Party is quite excited. There was a massive earthquake in Turkey, with as many...

Accessibility by WAH