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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 March 21, 2020 72 Comments
I went to Walmart early this morning, hoping to pick up a few things before the crowds arrived. The bad news is the shelves were really picked over, frighteningly so, and not just for food. The good news is the aisles were filled with wrapped pallets of food and assorted other things, with workers feverishly unpacking and shelving items. Seems I got there just a little too early.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 20, 2020 71 Comments
Donald Trump's daily press conferences on Wuhan coronavirus updates is must watch TV. Trump and various health and senior officials spend close to two hours providing detailed information, and then subject themselves to an hour or more of questions from reporters. It's spellbinding at times, with Trump clearly in command. It's what he loves, mixing it up with reporters. Sometimes that sparring makes news itself, but even without the drama from reporters, Trump shows himself in command.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 19, 2020 80 Comments
A reader sent me the image above, of Park Avenue in Manhattan just before 5 p.m. today. The height of 'rush hour.' This is a major avenue in the heart of our largest city, that in normal times would be jam-packed with cars, and taxis, and delivery trucks, and pedestrians. But it was all but deserted due to the government-ordered rolling shutdown of the economy to delay the spread of Wuhan coronavirus.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 16, 2020 70 Comments
My inbox has been flooded with messages from almost every company I've interacted with assuring me that they have a plan on how to deal with the Wuhan Coronavirus (none of them use that name, of course). The airlines, the banks, the hotels, the domain host, the lawyers, the accountants, ... even the furniture store, all have sent me messages of reassurance. They will be there for me, they are spread out in various locations with various back up systems, and they can log in from home.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 16, 2020 18 Comments
Last time we checked, the dysfunctional Israeli political system had just completed its third attempt in a year to elect a Prime Minister. Based on the exit polls, it appeared that Bibi Netanyahu would be the next Prime Minster, with his Likud Party and other religious and right-wing parties obtaining a majority.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 14, 2020 72 Comments
There are a small number of movies that had a profound impact on me as a child. Having grown up in the generation for whom nuclear war was the looming threat, many of those formative movies concerned the aftermath of nuclear war. I particularly remember Fail Safe and Dr. Strangelove.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 09, 2020 64 Comments
In September 2009, I caught Swine Flu during the semester when I was at Cornell in Ithaca. It was brutal. For the first time I understood how the flu could kill someone.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 08, 2020 95 Comments
With each passing day, more and more videos capture Joe Biden on the campaign trail making what are more than the gaffes for which he is famous. Biden forgets or struggles to remember names, events and people as he speaks, and jumbles words. Biden should not be laughed at for this. My overwhelming feeling for Joe is one of sadness, that he was pushed into something for which he is not prepared. And it's only going to get worse.
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