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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 June 27, 2019 10 Comments
In one of the major cases of this term, the Supreme Court has refused to provide a role for federal courts in deciding so-called partisan gerrymandering cases. That is, cases in which the federal courts pass judgment on the political process that gave rise to sometimes unfair districts benefitting one party or another. It was a straight 5-4 conservative-liberal split.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 27, 2019 44 Comments
Oberlin College has been on a crisis management public relations campaign to create a narrative that it is the victim in the Gibson's Bakery case because it was held liable for student speech. In a series of scripted public statements, Oberlin College's president Carmen Twillie Ambar has asserted that "this is a First Amendment case about whether whether an institution can be held liable for the speech of its students. And the actions of its students. And I think it’s important whether you’re a progressive or a conservative." That is, as we have noted before, a false characterization of the case.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 26, 2019 33 Comments
The first night of the Democratic Debate was unimpressive. Most of the candidates were trying to out-liberal the others. It was all so, shall we say, unimpressive. The moderators clearly favored Elizabeth Warren, repeatedly going back to her for questions, particularly at the beginning.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 25, 2019 53 Comments
The massive $11 million compensatory and $33 million punitive damage verdicts in favor of Gibson's Bakery and its owners have been matched by equally massive media condemnation of Oberlin College's conduct. In response, Oberlin College has developed a crisis management talking point that this "is a First Amendment case about whether whether an institution can be held liable for the speech of its students." It's a narrative of Oberlin College as victim, not the perpetrator the jury found it to be, and it's being rolled out by Oberlin College with increasing media focus.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 22, 2019 131 Comments
Oberlin College President Carmen Twillie Ambar has staked out an aggressive posture in reaction to the massive $11 million compensatory and $33 million punitive damage verdicts awarded Gibson's Bakery and its owners against Oberlin College and its Dean of Students, Meredith Raimondo. Those verdicts likely will be reduced under Ohio's tort reform law, but still likely will be in the 8-figure range, how high in the 8-figures will be one of the major post-trial fights.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 21, 2019 35 Comments
The massive compensatory and punitive damage verdicts against Oberlin College and in favor of Gibson's Bakery and it's owners 91-year-old Allyn W. Gibson and his son David Gibson, have captured substantial attention. Almost none of that attention has been favorable to Oberlin College, with withering Op-Eds eviscerating Oberlin College and its social justice warfare gone mad.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 20, 2019 34 Comments
The U.S. Supreme Court has reversed the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, and has ruled that the 1925 'Peace Cross' Memorial erected to remember World War I dead can stay on public land. The Opinion is here. Here is an explainer about the case from The Federalist Society:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 19, 2019 132 Comments
Oberlin College has taken a public relations beating in the wake of the massive verdicts against it and its Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo in the Gibson's Bakery case. The verdicts totaled $44 million, but those will be reduced under Ohio's tort reform law -- how much they are reduced will be the subject of court litigation, but there will be a substantial reduction (perhaps more than half) in all likelihood. The stories are too numerous to list, but there has been widespread criticism of Oberlin College's conduct.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 18, 2019 53 Comments
The massive compensatory and punitive damage jury verdicts in favor of Gibson's Bakery and its owners Allyn W. Gibson and David Gibson, against Oberlin College and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo, continue to reverberate. This case is a big shock to the higher educational system and already is giving rise to a rethinking of the role of administrators in participating in student activism. Yet think of the jury verdict as the end of the beginning. The most legally dangerous territory for the Gibsons is ahead. The facts of the case were so strong for the Gibsons that in some ways the easiest part is behind them. Now they need to protect what they have earned from numerous legal dangers. As discussed below, in addition to other legal challenges, the defense will save millions under Republican tort reform laws, how many millions will be a fight.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 16, 2019 114 Comments
We have covered Oberlin College at least since 2013, when we wrote extensively about The Great Oberlin College Racism Hoax of 2013. Classes were cancelled in favor of campus-wide forums to address white supremacy and systemic racism after racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic flyers were posted around campus. The campus almost melted down when a student spotted someone walking at night in a Ku Klux Klan robe. It turned out not to be the Klan, but likely a student walking at night wrapped in a blanket for warmth.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 15, 2019 95 Comments
The Gibson's Bakery massive verdict against Oberlin College has sparked incredible reader excitement, and brought many new readers to Legal Insurrection. I've spent the last week trying to absorb what is happening. The reactions to the compensatory and punitive damage verdicts remind me of only a few times in Legal Insurrection's almost 11-year history.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 14, 2019 210 Comments
After a jury awarded Gibson's Bakery and its owners $11 million in compensatory damages, and $33 million in punitive damages (which likely will be reduced to $22 million under a state law capping damages at 2X compensatory damages), the college and its administrators are unapologetic and vowing to fight. The President of Oberlin College, Carmen Twillie Ambar, just sent this blast email (h/t commenter rhhardin):

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 13, 2019 300 Comments
The jury just rendered its verdict on punitive damages in the Gibson's Bakery v. Oberlin College case. Daniel McGraw, our reporter in the courtroom, reports that in addition to the $11.2 million compensatory damages awarded last Friday, the jury awarded a total of $33 million in punitive damages, which will probably be reduced by the court to $22 million because of the state law cap at twice compensatory (it's not an absolute cap, but probably will apply here). That brings the total damages to $33 million. We will have the breakdown soon. The jury also awarded attorney's fees, to be determined by the judge.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 11, 2019 18 Comments
There's not question that Elizabeth Warren has generated buzz with her serial proposals to transform the country. Whether her plans, which impose a government control of the economy that makes Obama seem like a free-market zealot, will sell in a general election is something even the NY Times is questioning:
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