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.
Donald Trump just gave one of the strongest speeches of his career.
He promised to protect peaceful protesters and to seek justice for George Floyd, but demanded that Governors deploy the National Guard to stop the rioting, looting, and destruction of neighborhoods.
We earlier reported that the Criminal Complaint filed against Derek Chauvin in the George Floyd death containe a big problem for the popular and seemingly intuitive narrative that Chauvin’s extended knee pressure on Floyd’s neck was the cause of death.
Our “Virtual Reader Reception” is 7 p.m. Eastern tonight. See this post for more details.
Registration ends at 3 p.m. Eastern today. This is a closed event. Pre-registration via Eventbrite is required. It will not be livestreamed.
The Supreme Court has handed petty tyrants throughout the land license to discriminate against religious groups in ordering pandemic lockdowns and restrictions. From this point forward an argument that had succeeded in many lower courts will hold no sway.
The video of George Floyd pinned down on his stomach, hands cuffed behind him, with Officer Derek Chauvin pinning him down with a knee to the neck, is hard to watch. Among other things, Floyd pleads with the officers that he can’t breath.
On May 27, 2020, we noted that two Religious Liberty Lockdown Cases Reach SCOTUS, one from Illinois and one from California. That post has links and excerpts from the respective cases.
Last we reported, while you were focused on the pandemic, Mitch McConnell kept moving judicial nominees through the Senate confirmation process, with an eye on filling every vacancy by November. If Republicans lose the presidency or the Senate, the ability to transform the judiciary for a generation will be lost notwithstanding...
Trump just signed an Executive Order regarding social media bias.
The Wall Street Journal reported:
There are at least two cases in which we may get rulings soon from the U.S. Supreme Court on issues of religious liberty in the age of lockdown.
Both cases allege that religious groups are being treated more harshly than secular businesses and groups. This type of disparate treatment has been at...
Ilana Feldman, a professor of anthropology at George Washington University (GWU), recently was appointed Interim Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs at GWU.
There was an immediate firestorm of controversy, since Feldman is a supporter of and longtime activist leader of...
Anti-conservative bias by the social media giants which dominate our means of political communication has been a topic we’ve covered for many years.
That problem is a main focus of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, and our speaking appearances and online engagement.
Each Memorial Day we try to focus on the lives of a small number of individuals who gave their lives for our country, and whose stories we have followed for several years. In this way we put human faces and life stories honoring all those who paid the ultimate price.
Click on...
The lockdowns imposed by Governors and local governments, under guidelines issued by the federal government, were widely accepted at first because there was a perceived collective purpose in ‘flattening the curve’ to keep the medical system from being overwhelmed.
Judge Emmet Sullivan has been ordered by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to explain his actions In the Michael Flynn case.
There is mounting litigation against state lockdown orders, in some cases based on constitutional violations, in other situations based on claims the state officials lacked or exceeded statutory or regulatory authority.
A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered Judge Emmet Sullivan to respond to Michael Flynn’s Emergency Petition for a Mandate ordering the district court to dismiss...
Joe Biden is a disaster waiting to happen every time he opens his mouth.
It’s why his basement isolation strategy has worked so well for him. In that highly controlled environment, his handlers can minimize the gaffes.
