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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 10, 2020 38 Comments
On June 24, 2020, a panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Judge Emmet Sullivan to grant the government's motion to dismiss the criminal case against Michael Flynn. That Order would have become effective, requiring Sullivan's compliance, 21 days after that date (July 15). In an attempt to forestall compliance, on July 9, Sullivan filed a Petition for Rehearing En Banc, seeking a ruling by all 11 active judges on the appeals court.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 08, 2020 23 Comments
The U.S. Supreme Court issued two important religious liberty decisions today. Both were 7-2 decisions with Sotomayor and Ginsburg in dissent. The first and most high profile was Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania, involving regulations allowing entities with religious or morality objections to the Obamacare contraceptive mandate. The lower courts ruled the regulations unlawful, but the Supreme Court reversed.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 01, 2020 11 Comments
I was interviewed by Virginia Allen for The Daily Signal's podcast regarding the issues I'm facing at Cornell Law School, and issues facing academia and the nation more generally regarding the Black Lives Matter Movement. You can listen to the full podcast and read the full transcript at The Daily Signal website, Students, Faculty Target Professor for Writing Honest History of Black Lives Matter.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 30, 2020 22 Comments
Oberlin College has filed its Brief appealing the $11 million compensatory and $33 million punitive damage verdicts (later reduced to $25 million under Ohio tort reform caps) won by Gibson's Bakery. The Bakery also has filed its Cross-Appeal Brief seeking reinstatement of the full punitive damages verdict.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 27, 2020 44 Comments
The War on Statues is not new. In 2017, RebelPundit filmmakers Jeremy Segal and Andrew Marcus followed Chicago community organizer, Paul McKinley, on a tour of the south side neighborhood, Washington Park, where they find local residents opposed to a pastor's calls to remove George Washington's name and statue from the park.
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