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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 December 25, 2013 47 Comments

I was getting down about all the generic "holiday" cards I was getting. Completely content-void sayings like: "Wishing you a wonderful Holiday Season" and "Seasons Greetings and Best Wishes for a Happy New Year" Wish me a Merry Christmas, damn it, even though I'm Jewish. I demand it. By failing to wish...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 24, 2013 9 Comments
New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind has issued the following press release: https://twitter.com/HikindDov/status/415540737820721152
December 24, 2013 HIKIND CALLS ON AG SCHNEIDERMAN TO ADDRESS ASA’S ILLEGAL BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL DERSHOWITZ JOINS HIKIND IN CONDEMNING ‘BIGOTED BOYCOTT’ WHICH VIOLATES NEW YORK STATE HUMAN RIGHTS LAW Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) called upon New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman today to address a violation of New York State’s Human Rights Law by the American Studies Association (ASA). On December 16, the ASA—an association of American professors with nearly 5,000 members—voted to endorse an academic boycott of Israeli colleges and universities, calling on American schools and academic groups to ban collaboration with Israeli institutions. Renowned legal expert Professor Alan M. Dershowitz joined Hikind in condemning the ASA’s bigoted boycott. “This action by the ASA is a flagrant violation of New York State’s Human Rights Law,”said Assemblyman Hikind in a letter to Schneiderman, citing section Executive Law Article 15, 296.13, which addresses unlawful discriminatory practices. “This flagrant act of discrimination on the part of the ASA singles out only one of the 192 member nations of the United Nations. It seems clear that it does so not because of Israel’s U.N.-condemned disputes with its geographical neighbors, as such disputes are common. Moreover, Curtis Marez, the group’s president and an associate professor of ethnic studies at the University of California, admitted to the New York Timesthat ‘many nations, including Israel’s neighbors, are generally judged to have human rights records that are worse than Israel’s.’ Syria’s use of chemical weapons against its own citizens, including children, was condemned by all.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 24, 2013 11 Comments

MSNBC ugly. Thanks to The Washington Free Beacon for this compilation, Ugly Stuff: ...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 24, 2013 32 Comments

Pro Blogger Tip: When you're dead tired, out of ideas, almost everyone else at the blog is away or shopping...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 23, 2013 6 Comments

The List of Universities rejecting academic boycott of Israel is growing rapidly.  These two announcements are significant because they involve withdrawals of Institutional Membership, not just condemnation.  This makes four universities (Penn State Harrisburg, Brandeis, Kenyon, Indiana) who are withdrawing membership, plus several others (Willamette, Hamilton,...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 23, 2013 35 Comments
These are good days for George Zimmerman. He's selling art for big bucks, he got his guns back, and ..., um, well, he's back with Samantha Sheibe. Becca Lower brings us all this news which may portend more blog posts here in the future. From the L.A. Times:
How much is a painting created by George Zimmerman worth? For one EBay bidder, $100,099.99 was just the right price. The user’s prize: A signed 18-inch-by-24-inch oil painting of a blue American flag featuring a part of the Pledge of Allegiance, which had a starting bid of $0.99. The identity of the buyer is unknown, but according to the listing, the winning auction bid was one of 96 by 24 users when bidding closed at 9:55 a.m. Saturday. Using the EBay account “therealgeorgez,” Zimmerman, 30, put his artwork up for auction early this week. "Everyone has been asking what I have been doing with myself," the listing reads. "I found a creative way to express myself, my emotions and the symbols that represent my experiences. My art work allows me to reflect, providing a therapeutic outlet and allows me to remain indoors :-)"
Becca also points to this news at Bob Owen's Bearing Arms blog (via ABC)(emphasis added):

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 22, 2013 25 Comments

The universities and colleges below are confirmed to reject the academic boycott of Israel passed by the American Studies Association. This list is based on positions expressed by the Presidents of such Universities or others in a position to state a university's position (e.g., communications staff). We are...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 22, 2013 98 Comments

I've been learning more, over the past few days, about Duck Dynasty. This narrative makes a lot of sense: Duck Dynasty is not the show that they wanted, it is the show that got away from them. It seems what the producers intended and what A&E envisioned with...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 22, 2013 9 Comments
Note: This post originally was to list just a few statements from university Presidents, but as it has expanded it now will be the repository to gather the statements as a source for others. The title -- but not the url -- has been changed as has some of the text. Check our other post for the complete list: List of Universities rejecting academic boycott of Israel The list of Universities condemning the academic boycott of Israel passed by the American Studies Association and two smaller academic groups is growing.  New announcements are being made daily, although I expect a lull in new announcements as most universities are closed until after New Year's Day. Here are some of the announcements and email statements: Indiana University (additional statement below)
.... As you may know, President McRobbie has publicly voiced his opposition to any boycott of Israeli institutions. The AAU and the AAUP have both voted to oppose any such boycotts and we fully support both actions. We are investigating the nature of the IUs institutional membership in the ASA and will continue to monitor this situation closely.... Kelly A. Kish, Ph.D. Deputy Chief of Staff Office of the President Indiana University
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University is deeply troubled and dismayed that the American Studies Association (ASA) , among others, has engaged in a boycott of Israeli academic institutions We believe strongly that a boycott of academic institutions directly violates academic freedom, which is not only one of our university’s fundamental principles but one of American higher education in general. This boycott clearly violates the academic freedom not only of Israeli scholars but also of American scholars who might be pressured to comply with it. We have made this position clear to the ASA.... Washington University is a member of the Association of American Universities which issued a statement today. I completely endorse their statement.... Mark S. Wrighton, Ph.D. Chancellor and Professor of Chemistry

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 21, 2013 47 Comments
Yesterday was the worst Twitter day of all time. Or at least the worst that I remember. Some lady no one had ever heard of and who had about 100 followers at the time sent the Tweet above. The tweet went viral.  Some guy at Gawker is claiming credit for finding it, although a lot of people credit the big viral boost to someone at Buzzfeed who has over 100,000 followers: https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedAndrew/status/414103011464454145 https://twitter.com/danielwein/status/414103716892250112 https://twitter.com/BFriedmanDC/status/414420362042941440 Whoever started it, plenty of websites picked up on it and ran with it to feed the mob and not miss out on clicks and eyeballs. By the time I saw it, long after she became a hunted woman, my first impression was similar to that of John Nolte at Breitbart.com: Looks like the type of "white privilege" claptrap we read almost weekly at Salon.com or Slate.com.  Some liberal white person coming to grips with her privilege and wanting the whole world to know about it.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 21, 2013 10 Comments

Guilty until proven innocent, if they even let you prove your innocence: The Unfairness of Judicial Proceedings in Academia Where in America do we have quasi-judicial proceedings rivaling those of the English Star Chamber or Spanish Inquisition of the 16th century, in terms of lack of fairness...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 21, 2013 1 Comment

From frequent photographer Ulises: The sticker on top say “You can give peace a chance, we’ll cover you if it doesn’t work out”. For some reason this sticker does not come out really well in pictures, but here it goes. Now, the one on the bottom is...

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