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 April 15, 2020 53 Comments
The $350 billion Paycheck Protection Program is about to run out of funding, after Senate Democrats blocked a proposed $250 funding increase unless Republicans agreed to unrelated Democrat funding requests. We covered the Senate Democrat action, fully supported by House Democrats led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, last week, Democrats block expansion of Paycheck Protection Plan, demand more unrelated spending:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 14, 2020 20 Comments
Some local and state governments have tried to ban religious services, including drive-in Easter services, even though conducted in accordance with CDC 'social distancing' guidelines. It's government power grabs for the sake of power grabs. We highlighted this past weekend how a federal judge barred Kentucky from such anti-religious action, Federal Court Prohibits Louisville Mayor from Banning Easter Sunday Drive-in Church Service:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 13, 2020 34 Comments
The Chinese government has a vast and sophisticated disinformation campaign to cover-up its complicity in the spread of the coronavirus that started in Wuhan, China, and now is a worldwide pandemic devastating lives and economies. As previously discussed, a key component of that disinformation campaign is to control the words used to describe the virus, If you claim that calling it ‘Wuhan coronavirus’ is racist, you are part of the cover-up:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 12, 2020 32 Comments
The NY Times is in full election mode. On the one hand, the Times is devoting enormous resources toward blaming Trump for the Wuhan coronavirus damage, as if Trump declaring a national lockdown in February, as the impeachment trial was coming to a close, would have been feasible politically or justified based on what was known at the time.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 11, 2020 46 Comments
In one of the least surprising, yet most important, developments in the years-long Russia-collusion hoax, a recently declassified portion of the DOJ Inspector General's Report on the FBI investigation of the Trump campaign has revealed that Trump was the target of a Russian disinformation campaign. And the FBI knew it. So rather than colluding with the Russians, which the Mueller Report conclusively rejected, Trump was the victim of a Russian disinformation campaign exploited and promoted by Democrats, the media, and the FBI.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 08, 2020 104 Comments
With Bernie suspending his campaign today, it might seem self-evident that Joe Biden will be the Democratic nominee. But while Bernie is suspending his campaign, he's going to remain on future state ballots and continue to accumulate delegates. That might seem contradictory, but it's not if you consider Joe Biden's very public and sad 'cognitive decline.'

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 05, 2020 26 Comments
We have long covered the substantial and generational shift in the federal judiciary since Trump took office, particularly at the Court of Appeals level. Filling all Court of Appeals vacancies is a top priority, and while the Wuhan coronavirus crisis has stopped much of the economy, it has not stopped the normal functioning of the nomination process, or the activism of Democrats and liberal groups in opposing nominations.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 05, 2020 21 Comments
You may recall our coverage of the controversy surrounding Reem's Bakery in Oakland, California. Reem's was best known for the huge wall mural of Rasmea Odeh, the convicted terrorist murderer and immigration fraudster. For a detailed history of Odeh's crimes, including the murder of Israeli students Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner in a supermarket bombing, see my post The Lies of Rasmea Odeh and Her Supporters Exposed.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 05, 2020 49 Comments
Queen Elizabeth II just gave a pre-recorded address to Britain, which of course was broadcast around the world. As you would expect, the Queen displayed that famous English stiff upper lip and sense of understatement, much as she did during World War II. It was only her fourth such speech since assuming the throne on February 6, 1952.
Accessibility by WAH