Author: William A. Jacobson
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.
A strange sense of responsibility, now and then
on May 25, 2012
37 Comments
Brett Kimberlin responsible for nothing: Sarah Palin responsible for everything (embedded link here): ...
Arrest in Etan Patz murder
on May 25, 2012
19 Comments
A bittersweet update to my prior post about Etan Patz. Who knows if this is the real killer. I guess we'll find out as more evidence comes out. Hopefully the family will have the closure not only of a conviction, but of being able to bury Etan...
Boston Globe deep sixes article criticising Elizabeth Warren, substitutes Menino defense of Warren
on May 25, 2012
29 Comments
A number of readers forwarded me the link to an article about Scott Brown's demand that Harvard correct its filings with the Labor Department to remove Elizabeth Warren's listing as a Native American. Reader Tom wrote: Professor: Senator Brown's now taking on HARVARD in his campaign. It's...
A Brett Kimberlin situation “could happen to you”
on May 25, 2012
58 Comments
There is a lot out there today about Brett Kimberlin, who either himself or through supporters has been going after various conservative bloggers who have called attention to his past. You already know about Aaron Walker. A must read post, and I mean MUST READ, is by Patrick Frey...
Elizabeth Warren listed as “woman of color” in Harvard student journal in 1993
on May 25, 2012
16 Comments
While Elizabeth Warren is doing well in the polls, her story about not promoting herself as Native American for professional purposes continues to fall apart. Michael Patrick Leahy, writing at Breitbart.com today, links to an article in the Spring 1993 issue of the student-run Harvard Women's Law Journal, when Warren...
Idiots
on May 25, 2012
10 Comments
A reader was quick enough to photograph this bumper sticker. I don't know if you have published this particular sticker. From Albuquerque, NM. Photo taken at a stoplight; I was lucky enough to have my camera w/ me (I usually don't). It took me a minute to figure it...
Amazon.com gives in to Color of Change drops ALEC
on May 24, 2012
25 Comments
Don't say I haven't been warning you. While the secondary boycott of Rush Limbaugh has been only marginally effective, Color of Change has had more success getting major companies to drop their participation in the American Legislative Exchange Counsel (ALEC) by falsely tying ALEC's support of "stand your...
Elizabeth Warren: I’m Native American “because my mother told me so”
on May 24, 2012
37 Comments
She's digging in, bolstered by headlines that much of the electorate doesn't care, via MassLive: Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren said Thursday that she knows she has Native American ancestry because her mother told her so. Warren’s comments came after nearly four minutes of tense back and...
Hello-Hello Scott Brown, a/k/a The Elizabeth Warren Accountability Project
on May 24, 2012
47 Comments
Will Elizabeth Warren escape accountability for telling what at best were tall tales and at worst lies about her Cherokee heritage? Will Warren get away with using her mystical heritage strategically to advance her career in a crafty way which provided her with (im)plausible deniability? Will the...
A headline so obsequious even NY Times had to change it
on May 24, 2012
29 Comments
Remember that Indelible Image of a Boy's Pat on Obama's Head? You know, the one that was so indelible that no one remembered it, and the NY Times felt compelled to remind you how indelible it was with a headline "Indelible Image of Boy's Pat on...
Sample ballot found already filled out
on May 24, 2012
14 Comments
the right way. From frequent photographer Ulises: I was not aware that such subversive speech against the dear leader was allowed in deep blue Maryland...
This Pow Wow Chow thing is paying off for me
on May 23, 2012
19 Comments
I'm sorry I have neglected promoting items from the Tip Line, it's just that I've been preoccupied with coaxing the genealogy from the bottle. And staring at the sky waiting to see if a shoe drops from the heavens. Here are some items which deserve attention: An...
How do Zimmerman prosecutors prove case when key witnesses now have reasonable doubts?
on May 23, 2012
29 Comments
The Orlando Sentinel reports that several witnesses have changed their stories from the initial interviews, mostly (but not completely) to the detriment of George Zimmerman: Evidence released last week in the second-degree-murder case against George Zimmerman shows four key witnesses made major changes in what they...
Too bad, Limbaugh ratings not plunging
on May 23, 2012
11 Comments
I really urge you to take a look at the Twitter hastag #StopRush, it's one of the more depressing places on the internet; one can't help but feel sorry for people who spend their day tweeting obsessively the same things over and over again, day after...
Palin’s support for Orrin Hatch is not new
on May 23, 2012
27 Comments
The big news last night was that Sarah Palin endorsed Orrin Hatch (video via HotAir): Many people are acting surprised. But Palin's support is not new, as this video from August 2011 indicates, although calling it a formal "endorsement' may be new: I set forth my position...
Was it a lie if Elizabeth Warren believed it?
on May 23, 2012
75 Comments
Blogger Bernie Quigly at The Hill, in what now is a classic, raises a novel defense, Elizabeth Warren’s true American lineage: Elizabeth Warren might be excused for wanting to be Native American. She can claim an old American soul, going back generations in Oklahoma. In the heartland...
Bumper sticker pride parade
on May 23, 2012
11 Comments
From reader Nate, sent on May 13: I’m a regular reader of your blog, and love the bumper sticker page. Here is my contribution. Yesterday was the gay pride march in Northampton, MA which made for great opportunities for bumper sticker photos. Sure enough, here is...
