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.
Yale Law Professor Jed Rubenfeld lays out the basics and problems of the verdict: "What exactly was Trump just found guilty of?"...
My June 4, 2020, post turned out to be one of the most impactful posts I've written since I launched the Legal Insurrection Blog in 2008. Here it is again....
I smelled a rat as soon as Biden announced it: "This has all the appearances of Team Biden trying to box Israel into something it did not propose and does not agree to - and dropping it just before the Sabbath so we can't get...
Our Op-ed in The Telegraph (UK): "Faith in our systems has been broken for at least half the country. Things are about to go from bad to worse."...
My response: "I am glad that Dr. Brown has stated that the SOCU Summit will be open to all. That message of openness needs to be promoted vigorously and immediately to the ICSD community, because a contrary message of exclusion has been communicated previously, as...
EPP calls for event to be open to all students and staff. Ithaca Board of Education member: "We’ve had some people ask us as a Board ...
Our nation is facing extreme cultural and political stress points. But we must remember those who gave all, and honor them....
Nate Silver re Washington Monthly protest data analysis: "Of course the stereotype was that these protests were concentrated at expensive elite colleges but I didn't realize the rather extreme extent to which that's actually true."...
We've been warning for years about how medical education was being destroyed by DEI. The Free Beacon has an investigation of UCLA Medical School showing how deeply the rot has been advanced by affirmative action admitting unqualified students: "One professor said that a student in...
"MIT’s after-the-fact website wording change does not alter the serious violations of the civil rights laws that have been taking place for years."...
"We are pleased that Oberlin has reached a confidential resolution with our insurers. Our settlement with our two primary insurers — Lexington and UE — is significant."...
Will this prior prediction come true? "Prediction: By the time this is over, the anti-Israel Tentifada will have increased support for Israel (and very likely saved Republicans from their own incompetence)."...
"We just celebrated the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, which ended racial segregation in public education. It is sad and disheartening to see that institutions like MIT that receive federal funding are re-segregating the student body through exclusionary programs.”...
The Wesleyan President and administration rightly are seen as giving in to extortion in order to preserve peace at reunions and commencement. In so doing, they have dangled the possibility of the university entering into some form of divestment or academic boycott of Israel in...
"They're happy to take your money, but you're not getting the influence you think you're getting by donating. What I do think they fear tremendously is cutoff of government funding, federal funding particularly, but also state funding. That is the hammer over their head."...
"The Late Republic, between 200-27 BCE, was defined by the collapse of the system of government."...
"The presidential statement reflects some variation on Stockholm Syndrome, lauding students assisted by faculty who took the campus hostage with bullhorns in study areas, marches including genocidal chants directed at Israeli Jews, vandalism of university property, and even putting Pollack on mock trial for complicity...
"Texas has one of the strongest ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws of self-defense that cannot be nullified by a jury or a progressive District Attorney. I thank the Board for its thorough investigation, and I approve their pardon recommendation.”...
