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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.

As reported by National Journal (via TWS)(emphasis mine): “Every now and again, I meet with someone who’s been very successful on Wall Street, who says, ‘I want to support your campaign because I believe you will save capitalism. I believe in capitalism, and I understand there have...

Mitt Romney is under furious attack from the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, and pro-Obama media for pointing out the truth about why culture matters in the economic success of Israel. How would these people have reacted if Romney gave this speech: You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania the Palestinian Territories,...

And you wonder why nothing gets done in the Senate and Republicans can't even get votes on legislation or a budget? Via The Hill: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has launched a blistering verbal assault against William Magwood, a Democratic member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission...

It relates to this story: At the urging of Valerie Jarrett, President Barack  Obama canceled the operation to kill Osama bin Laden on three  separate occasions before finally approving the May 2, 2011 Navy SEAL mission,  according to an explosive new book scheduled for release August...

We've seen the Mayors of Boston and Chicago abuse their power to drive a lawful business out of their jurisdictions by threatening to withhold business permits because the founder and President support the definition of marriage as one man - one woman. When those threats generated an outcry even...

The cycle of perpetual outrage and victimhood continues. Mitt Romney pointed out something obvious, that Israel has a record of economic success unmatched by those under Palestinian Authority control, attributing it to cultural and other factors: "As you come here and you see the GDP per capita,...

From reader equitus: I saw this one in Napa County, CA on Thursday, May 31. Note the large faded sticker in the middle: "I [heart] Big Brother" It's a little shocking anyone would admit this kind of sentiment, even in these parts. Keep up the great work! ...

The Dewhurst campaign released an internal poll earlier today showing Dewhurst up: With less than two days until the runoff for the GOP nomination in the Texas Senate race, Lt. Gov David Dewhurst has a narrow lead over rival Ted Cruz, according to a Dewhurst campaign...

The next Insurrection still is on target for an August roll-out.  Most likely mid-month. The current site really is just a holding place, and all the sidebar and navigation bar links are the same as Legal Insurrection.  That will change when the site goes live. Your Legal Insurrection registration...

Is anyone getting "spawned" when visiting LI? A reader has complained that links produce multiple "spawned" pages. I've never had the problem, and our site is clean of viruses as far as we can determine. Is anyone else having this problem?...

Let me be as clear as I can be.  Anyone who supports Israel must vote for Romney.  Obama, in complete control of foreign and military policy, will be unrestrained by electoral considerations in a second term, and will impose his vision of a Middle East settlement...

A recent poll indicates she is in trouble. Via The St. Louis Post-Dispatch: No matter who wins the Missouri Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate on Aug. 7, Democrat Claire McCaskill is running from behind. McCaskill, the first-term incumbent Democratic senator, trails all three of her likely Republican...

From reader Gaby: I took this about a month ago in Woodland Hills, Ca, a suburb of Los Angeles. ...

The Saturday Night Card Game started on August 8, 2009, when I noticed a post by Oliver Willis of Media Matters blogging at his own blog, as follows: Steve Benen tries to understand just why wingnuts are so angry about health care reform. He doesn’t make...

My post earlier today, Sarah Palin visits Chick-fil-A, civility and new tone ensue on Twitter, has generated a fair bit of attention. The tweets highlighted in the post were not even the worst of them. As has become typical when Palin is attacked from the left, the attacks quickly become mysogynistic, sexualized, and sexist, with the "C" word liberally thrown in by women as well as men. Here are some more samples of the sea of profanity and vitriol, so you realize (which you already do, I know), we are dealing with:

Fortunately, I missed most of the Olympics opening ceremony. Reader Matt sent this link to the BBC with the request "Please tell me this will get a post!!: AP also is running this photo and explanation: Actors lying on beds meant to represent Britain's National Health Service (NHS)...