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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 July 18, 2013 45 Comments

Sure, I disagree with Marco Rubio on the Gang of 8 immigration bill, particularly the amnesty part. But what's most galling is that Rubio appears to have been played by Chuck Schumer on the Democratic side, and McCain/Graham on the Republican side, suckered into being the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 18, 2013 12 Comments

From a reader: Hello! I'm a regular reader and finally had the chance to get a picture worthy of your website. This photo was taken Monday evening on Route 1 in Alexandria, Fairfax County, VA. The van had a VA plate. Enjoy! ...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 17, 2013 204 Comments

I think she came across a lot better in this interview than she did in the trial. And better than the Piers Morgan interview, which resulted in some narrative-busting and generally bizarre sound bites. It's loathsome that Al Sharpton has a show on MSNBC, but he did bring out the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 17, 2013 86 Comments
Now I remember why I detest the snide and smug insider attitude of the D.C. and liberal media. Noah Rothman has the story at Mediaite about a Daily Caller intern who asked a perfectly legitimate question at a press conference today and was mocked by much of the "professional" media:
The impropriety displayed on Wednesday by a high school-age intern who dared to ask White House Press Secretary Jay Carney a question relating to the security provided to the family of George Zimmerman knows no bounds. That is apparently the opinion of a number of members of the political press. After an intern had the temerity to ask Carney a question, the political media flew into a tizzy over the presumptuousness of the intern and turned to mocking him and the venue which credentialed him to be in the Briefing Room in the first place.... the 16-year-old intern, Gabe Finger, asked Carney about the security provided Zimmerman’s family in the wake of the controversial not guilty verdict handed down last Saturday. Carney said that President Barack Obama and the Martin family have called for a non-violent reaction to the verdict. “So, they’re on their own?” Finger followed up. “You can editorialize all you want, and I’m sure that you will, but that is a ridiculous statement,” Carney shot back.
That was a perfectly legitimate question, yet here is some of the insider reaction via Mediaite: Mediaite DC Caller Intern Update: The Daily Caller responds:
Some reporters in Washington are asking why The Daily Caller sent our intern Gabe Finger to the White House press briefing this afternoon. Talk about missing the point. The real question is, why did it take a 16-year-old intern to raise an obvious and important question that the White House press corps should have asked days ago? We don’t care how old Gabe Finger is. It doesn’t matter to us what his credentials are. All we care about is how well he does his job. Today he did it a lot better than most White House reporters.
... including this video:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 17, 2013 71 Comments

TaxProf is out with his latest law professor blog traffic rankings for the trailing 12 months ending 6-30-2013. I reprint these each Quarter merely as a public service, because you have a right to know. (Usual caveat, because Instapundit does not have a public SiteMeter, you can...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 16, 2013 26 Comments

Republicans struck a deal to avoid Harry Reid going nuclear on the filibuster of Obama nominees. So the filibuster remains in place for one of two things to happen: (1) Democrats retain control of the Senate in 2014, and Republicans continue to confirm Obama nominees and legislative...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 16, 2013 16 Comments

We previously wrote about this, Run, Liz Cheney, Run and Our second team. Now it's official: I wanted her to run because we need competition in primaries -- no more entitlements. Now that she's running, she'll have earn the nomination....

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 16, 2013 79 Comments

This week has made my head hurt from all the shaking in disbelief. It's almost overwhelming, the multitude of absurd race-agitating actions and words coming from those who refuse to accept the facts and law as to the Zimmerman trial. This lawyer interviewed by Greta is part of the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 16, 2013 125 Comments

Salon.com, which does not have a staff that looks like America, continues its branding as the place to go for lectures on White Privilege, Whiteness, and how race drives almost everything in America. And it's not just David Sirota.  They even have a "white people" tag. In the wake...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 15, 2013 309 Comments
And it begins. Juror B37 gave an interview to CNN in which she said it was George Zimmerman screaming for help: [some video problems on CNN's side with embeds but appears to be working now] Meanwhile, the prosecutors are on the TV circuit defending themselves, and calling Zimmerman a murderer:
How would Florida State Attorney Angela Corey describe George Zimmerman in one word? "Murderer."
Update: Thanks to Common Cents, here is the full video interview:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 15, 2013 68 Comments

The great thing about having your own blog is that you get to quote yourself. The title is a quote from my interview this morning with Lee Rayburn of WHCU 870 AM in Ithaca. ...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 15, 2013 95 Comments

Forgotten in the publicity surrounding the jury verdict in the case against George Zimmerman is that a perjury charge against his wife, Shellie Zimmerman, remains active. According to the State Court docket, the case is scheduled for trial August 21.  I have calls in to the prosecutors...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 15, 2013 153 Comments

One of the most popular liberal reactions to the finding that George Zimmerman was not guilty is to posit the question of how the case would have been treated differently if Trayvon Martin were white. The question always is answered by the author that the shooting...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 14, 2013 143 Comments

I'll be brief. I can't add much to what I've written the past 17 months about the facts, evidence, law, witnesses, lawyers, judges, politics, and media. So here you go: Despite the heated demands of powerful societal forces and the State, six women just said No, and thereby did justice. Amen....

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