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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 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.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 29, 2020 36 Comments
Oberlin College has been in the throes of turmoil for a decade. Aggressive, and sometimes absurd, social justice warfare hit the school's image and enrollment long before the Gibson's Bakery lawsuit and massive verdict. The latest controversy surrounds cost-cutting in an attempt to narrow a multi-million dollar 'structural deficit'. While there have been some cutbacks at administrative and faculty levels, the college now is attempting to jettison it's unionized custodial and dining hall workers.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 26, 2020 59 Comments
The State of New York has a natural gas shortage, the result of years of the administration of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and environmentalists fighting the construction of new supply pipelines. A June 2019 report by The Manhattan Institute documented the shortage and its causes, Out of Gas: New York’s Blocked Pipelines Will Hurt Northeast Consumers:
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