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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.

So where does last night's debate leave us? I'd say stage 4, although not all have made it that far: Denial √ In this stage, the world becomes meaningless and overwhelming. Life makes no sense. We are in a state of shock and denial. We go numb. Anger √ Be...

I warned you not to pay $5 for the latest Obama dinner raffle, Warning on $5 Obama dinner raffle.  Based on past performance, as the quarterly reporting date approached, Obama would drop the price. And sure enough, a reader forwarded me an e-mail with the $3 offer...

I listened to Mahmoud Abbas's delusional speech at the U.N., perpetuating the Palestinians as exclusive victims narrative. I'm listening to Benjamin Netanyahu now, a model of clarity on the threats to peace.  I'll hope to post the videos later. For now, it's open time. On the table not...

My initial reaction last night was that Rick Perry did not have a good night. My reaction this morning is that he had a disastrous night, possibly ending his chances of getting the nomination unless he gets his act together real soon.  I say "possibly" because it...

More from reader "Joe's" recent road trip. Also snapped this pic of the back of a car on the Blue Ridge Parkway on my way home. I got a kick out of the image of the dog howling "obama". The one sticker asks, "What are you grateful...

I already have debate fatigue. But will soldier on. Not "live blogging" but insightful and inciteful analysis at appropriate points. Comments are welcome and encouraged. Final Assessment:  Rick Perry didn't help himself; just don't understand why he's not more comfortable in this setting, not quick on his...

This is almost enough to cause me to rescind my Bye Bye Brown pronouncement, because Elizabeth Warren ascending to the Senate to replace Scott Brown would make Ted Kennedy seem like the good ol' days. The progressives are in a lather about this video by Warren...

There is one worthwhile clause in an otherwise worthless article at The Atlantic by Steve Clemons, Obama Tells Palestinians to Stay in the Back of the Bus. Clemons lays out the fiction that the Palestinian strategic move to take land without peace is something Gandhi-like: Obama's position on this is dangerous in...

Check out the Cornell Chronicle article about my Tea Party talk, Law professor's talk on the Tea Party triggers heated debate. Could they possibly have picked a worse photo?  Thankfully, they didn't serve corn dogs at the event. Related Posts:  “… like Thomas Paine and other deep thinkers from...

Via HotAir, Mitt Romney has scored two significant conservative endorsements recently, Jeff Flake and Darrel Issa.  While that may not constitute a coalescing around Romney, it does help insulate him from RINO charges.  Whatever he once was, is he now the conservative who can win? What's up...

Name withheld for a reason which will become obvious. From reader "Joe": I just returned from a road trip from SD to VA for my mother's funeral. As I drove down the WV Turnpike I snapped this pic of a billboard. I'd seen it before on a previous...

Why the Palestinians thought that a diplomatic confrontation with the U.S. was the way to go is inexplicable.  Once again, they overplayed their hand. Did they really buy into Obama's rhetoric from 2009 in Cairo, or earlier this year about the Arab Spring?  In part, a...

Not able to get to posting this afternoon, so tell me what's on your minds. (Maybe, what do you think about bloggers from other blogs trolling the comment section here?  Just a hypo, no one particular in mind.)...

Obama gave a good speech today at the U.N. on the Israel-Palestinian conflict: President Barack Obama told a meeting  of the United Nations General Assembly Wednesday that Mideast peace “will  not come through statements and resolutions” by the world body, arguing against  a proposed resolution calling...

It's all about the natural gas and Erdogan's ego: Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan described offshore gas drilling by estranged ally Israel and Cyprus as "madness" on Wednesday, raising the stakes in a confrontation over potentially huge deposits in the eastern Mediterranean...

Thanks to reader Heather, who writes: Seen on a parked Prius in Sister Bay, WI Oh, the comments I could make! In a follow up e-mail, Heather wrote: In forgot to tell you; on the other side of the bumper was the obligatory "coexist" bumper sticker! Comments, why comments about...