Image 01 Image 03
Sign In or RegisterLogout

Author: William A. Jacobson

Profile photo

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, 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.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 26, 2020 32 Comments
One of the two posts of mine that sent some alumni, faculty, and students at Cornell Law School into a rage regarded the "Hands Up, Don't Shoot" slogan which has become synonymous with the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 25, 2020 54 Comments
On Sunday, June 28, at 8 p.m. Eastern, we will be holding our fourth online virtual event: The Ongoing Cultural Purge. I will speak for "a while" about many of the things we have been witnessing: the tearing down of civil society, the mindless trashing of history, the repulsive rhetoric and conduct, the purge of wrongthinkers in academia and the workplace. Then we will turn to Q&A.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 20, 2020 111 Comments
There was a natural inclination, when colleagues and others at Cornell Law School twisted and distorted my words to try to isolate me and damage my reputation, to think it was about me.

Alinsky Rule 13. “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions.

Once I went public with what was happening, and the isolation ended, it didn't take long for me to realize that it's not about me.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 17, 2020 136 Comments
I have been chronicling the saga of efforts to get me fired and denounced at Cornell Law School because of blog posts I wrote critical of the Black Lives Matter Movement as it originated, developed, and plays out now:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 15, 2020 113 Comments
So there I was, minding my own business, enjoying my newborn second grandaughter (did I mention that?), when shit rolled downhill at me in the form of fury from some Cornell Law School faculty, alumni, and students, because I told some hard truths and expressed some tough opinions about the start of the organized Black Lives Matter Movement and the recent rioting and looting.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 15, 2020 56 Comments
In 2015, we were the first to report on a 14-page Demand List issued by ABUSUA, Oberlin College's Black Students Union, including faculty hiring mandates and tenure promotions for black faculty, as well as a demand to “deconstruct imperialism, white supremacy, capitalism, ableism, and a cissexist heteropatriarchy” and to divest from Israel. The Demand List went viral, and is the most-viewed Scribd document we have posted, with over 172,000 reads.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 13, 2020 128 Comments
As you know, there is an effort to get me fired from Cornell Law School because of my criticisms of the Black Lives Matters Movement, and failing firing, get me officially denounced by the law school. It does not appear they will get me fired, but they did succeed in getting an official denunciation. See these posts for background:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 12, 2020 49 Comments
I appeared last night on the Laura Ingraham show to talk about my post, There’s an effort to get me fired at Cornell for criticizing the Black Lives Matter Movement. Much of the conversation turned on a Statement issued late yesterday afternoon by Cornell Law School Dean Eduardo M. Peñalver defending my academic freedom and stating that no disciplinary action would be taken, but otherwise condemning me.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 11, 2020 330 Comments
There is an effort underway to get me fired at Cornell Law School, where I've worked since November 2007, or if not fired, at least denounced publicly by the school. Ever since I started Legal Insurrection in October 2008, it's been an awkward relationship given the overwhelmingly liberal faculty and atmosphere. Living as a conservative on a liberal campus is like being the mouse waiting for the cat to pounce.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 08, 2020 49 Comments
Last Friday, Oberlin College and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo filed their Appeal Brief, seeking to overturn the trial verdict. The NAACP also filed a ridiculous Amicus Brief supporting the college. According to the docket, at least one more Amicus Brief will be filed for a coalition of 'anti-censorship' groups. Today, Gibson's Bakery filed its Cross-Appeal Brief (pdf.)(full embed at bottom of post). Wait, what is a cross-appeal?
Accessibility by WAH