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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 July 27, 2019 22 Comments
Elizabeth Warren's not practicing what she preaches is a recurring theme in her political career, beyond her Native American problem. As we covered in 2012 and again recently, Warren made millions representing large corporations in legal cases hostile to consumers and workers, yet portrayed that work completely differently: Elizabeth Warren’s erroneous claim to have tried to help women with breast implant claims when she represented Dow Chemical

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 25, 2019 159 Comments
My initial reaction to Robert Mueller's congressional appearance was one of pity. He was a pathetic character on the stage, seemingly bewildered at times, mentally frail, and vulnerable as a witness. What a way to end a career and to be remembered by friend and foe alike.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 24, 2019 77 Comments
The compensatory and punitive damages of $25 million (after reduction for tort reform caps), plus the over $6.5 million in attorney's fees and costs, put Oberlin College almost $32 million in debt to Gibson's Bakery and its owners. Absent some judicial action, the next step would have been for the Gibsons to execute on the judgment, meaning start collecting the money through post-judgment remedies, such as seizing bank accounts and physical property.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 23, 2019 39 Comments
I appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight to talk about Elizabeth Warren's representation of Dow Chemical in breast implant litigation, and how she has not been forthright about her role. She portrays herself as having fought for the women, when the reality was quite different. The Washington Post recently published an investigation that confirmed my prior reporting that Warren's representation of Dow Chemical, the parent corporation of the breast implant manufacturer, Dow Corning, was not to help the women.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 21, 2019 46 Comments
Timing is everything in politics, and Elizabeth Warren received a huge break when a devastating Washington Post investigation of Warren's legal practice when she was a law professor was published on Monday, July 15, 2019. That was the day after Trump's tweets telling four congresswomen "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how...." The investigation confirmed and expanded on Legal Insurrection's reporting from 2012 that in her private legal practice Warren worked against breast implant victims, not for them as she claimed. It was part of a pattern of Warren representing major corporations against the people Warren claims to care about, before she launched her political career.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 19, 2019 174 Comments
The $25 million damages judgment plus the over $6.5 million attorney's fees and expenses award, puts Oberlin College almost $32 million in debt to Gibson's Bakery and its owners. Post-judgment interest in Ohio is 5%, which if my math is correct, on $32 million equals $1.6 million a year just in interest, or $4,384 per day. So that $32 million is going to keep growing as the inevitable appeal winds its way through the courts.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 16, 2019 22 Comments
On July 15, 2019, I spoke at the Department of Justice Summit on Combatting Anti-Semitism, on a panel regarding Anti-Semitism on Campus. My presentation was on "Intersectionality." Attorney General William Barr, in his opening statement to the Summit, specifically noted the importance of intersectional anti-Semitism:
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