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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 May 22, 2020 26 Comments
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 the prosecution against Flynn as the government wants, and removing Sullivan from the case. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, reacted by singling out and attacking only one of the three judges on the panel, Neomo Rao. Whitehouse tweeted a Politico article about the panel order with this commentary:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 19, 2020 55 Comments
On Obama's last day in office, January 20, 2017, National Security Advisor Susan Rice wrote an email memo to herself (pdf.) regarding the investigation into Michael Flynn and a January 5, 2017, meeting attended by Obama, Biden, Rice, Sally Yates, and James Comey. The email was mostly public previously, though supposedly classified portions were redacted.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 19, 2020 22 Comments
The repressive, often petty and irrational, lockdown measures implemented in many states and localities has caused a backlash that grows daily. Increasingly, we see hairdressers, restaurants, gyms, and other small businesses saying they are willing to risk arrest in order to reopen and save their businesses. People who normally obey the law are engaging in acts of civil disaobedience against orders and restriction that are viewed as illegitimate, both constitutionally and from a health perspective.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 19, 2020 24 Comments
Judge Emmet Sullivan has opened up the District Court criminal prosecution to an outsider, former Judge John Gleeson, to argue why Sullivan should not dismiss the case against Michael Flynn even though the Department of Justice wants to drop the case based on FBI and prosecutorial misconduct. Gleeson has a documented history of hostility towards Flynn.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 18, 2020 112 Comments
Attorney General William Barr, the second most hated man among the anti-Trump resistance, gave his detractors something to love today: Obama and Biden are not, and based on what Barr knows will not, be subject to criminal investigation in connection with John Durham's investigation of the Russia collusion hoax:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 16, 2020 80 Comments
HoganWillig is a multi-office law firm in western New York State. Among its practice areas is real estate closings, which enabled it to obtain designation from the state as an "essential" business even under Andrew Cuomo's coronavirus lockdown orders. The firm also has gained expertise in advising businesses how to weather the coronavirus regulatory storm, and now finds itself in the center of one of those storms as the New York Attorney General's Office has been threatening the firm over its continued real estate operations, claiming the firm was not complying with Cuomo's Orders. The firm is fighting back with a federal court lawsuit.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 15, 2020 67 Comments
There was a time in the long ago past that we did Open Threads. Basically opening the floor to whatever you wanted to talk about in the comment section. I have a lot of topics on my plate, but every now and then you need to stop and pause.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 13, 2020 172 Comments
In my post last night, I suggested that Judge Emmett Sullivan likely was in the process of deciding who to appoint to argue the government's (former) position as to whether DOJ would be permitted to drop the case, Judge in Michael Flynn case may allow ‘amicus’ briefs on whether to drop case – is there reason for freak out?
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