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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 June 04, 2012 13 Comments

Yesterday I highlighted the good work being done by Robert Stacy McCain to follow up on the Kimberlin/Walker case and related issues. Kudos also go out to Patrick Frey at Patterico, who has gone through as much as anyone, for continuing to follow through, including these...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 04, 2012 22 Comments

Manic high or low.  That's how people are going to be feeling after the Wisconsin Recall results come in tomorrow night. I want to get high. Turnout in Wisconsin will be everything.  The latest PPP poll shows a 3-point margin for Walker, based on a more enthusiastic...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 04, 2012 41 Comments

Elizabeth Warren already laid claim to being the first nursing mother to take the New Jersey Bar exam, an unverifiable and likely untrue claim: Now, despite all the facts the contrary, Warren is claiming that if elected she will be the first Native American Senator from Massachusetts: I...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 03, 2012 69 Comments

Not a JDate ad, a new "minority classification" at the City University of New York, and some who prefer to stick with preexisting minority classifications are not happy: Touting a move to make its faculty more diverse, CUNY administrators have  broken out Jews into a separate...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 03, 2012 43 Comments

Desperate times give rise to desperate actions, and we just witnessed one of the most bumbled desperation passes since someone forgot the history of typewriter fonts. Why bother with the accustion, let's just get to the most enjoyable images of the bubble bursting, via Daily Kos: And...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 03, 2012 5 Comments

When someone in the blogosphere does a good job on a story, and goes places no one else has gone with it, he or she deserves credit, and at least a shout out. Robert Stacy McCain is still on the Brett Kimberlin/Aaron Walker story while many others have moved...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 03, 2012 40 Comments

Elizabeth Warren is the Democratic Party nominee for Senate, after party leaders twisted arms to make sure Marisa DeFranco did not make the primary ballot. Warren may have become the nominee, but she's still not Native American. Whereas prior to May 2012 one might have said Warren simply believed what...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 03, 2012 23 Comments

I posted previously about Mayor Michael Bloomberg's large sugary soda ban plan, The never-ending cycle of nanny government. The Center for Consumer Freedom placed this full page ad in The New York Times yesterday: ...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 03, 2012 17 Comments

Featuring commenter LukeHandCool's daughter.  She must have a beautiful mother. ...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 03, 2012 8 Comments

From reader Tom who spotted this in the parking lot of an Einstein Bros. Bagels and Starbucks in Chevy Chase, Maryland: ...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 02, 2012 29 Comments

Ann Althouse (via Instapundit) has a post about a mailer she received from a pro-Recall group in Wisconsin telling her which of her neighbors voted and which did not in the past several years.  Althouse's reaction: This is an effort to shame and pressure people about voting, and...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 02, 2012 12 Comments

From a reader known to me but who asked to stay anonymous: Not even sure what kind of subject line to give this one: One of the pieces of our business involves providing media research to the general public. We strive to provide a very affordable service using the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 02, 2012 41 Comments

There is something pathological in Elizabeth Warren's refusal to acklowledge that she is not Native American. When confronted with the fact that real Cherokees have traced her maternal lineage back to the great-great-great grandparent level and found no Native American ancestry, Warren ignores the facts and...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 02, 2012 6 Comments

I've driven by this vehicle in Ithaca many times, but didn't pay much attention to the ubiquitous Ithaca is Gorges bumper sticker. Until the other day, when I noticed that's not what it said. ...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 01, 2012 17 Comments

but in Israel. Via Times of Israel, IDF Staff Sergeant Netanel Moshiashvili was killed early Friday morning in a gunfight with a Palestinian infiltrator near the Israel-Gaza border. The terrorist group Islamic Jihad first confirmed its connection to the incident, but later denied it. The gunman had penetrated...

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