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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 April 18, 2012 16 Comments

This is just a poll of delegates who will vote on April 21 at the Utah Republican nominating convention, not an actual vote, but if true, it would be an earthquake in UT-04:In Utah's newly formed 4th district, things are considerably tight, according to the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 18, 2012 54 Comments

Oh, sure it's not as important as the future of mankind, or the debt cliff Obama is driving us off. But since Democrats are in full Seimus on the Roof mode, why not point out: or  or More at HotAir, Daily Caller, Twitchy. Update:  It has come to this: ...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 18, 2012 13 Comments

When Indiana primary voters go to the polls on May 8, they should remember that in 2008 Dick Lugar verbally embraced Barack Obama and gave Obama bipartisan cover at a critical time in the campaign, so much so that Lugar became a prominent fixture in Obama...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 17, 2012 23 Comments

with such ease and confidence: Reality: Notice that support for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the first legislation President Obama signed in 2009, is now equated with support for women’s equal pay. Thus do liberals constantly ratchet the country in a leftward direction, declaring every piece...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 17, 2012 52 Comments

There has been a pressure campaign against corporate sponsors of the American Legislative Exchange Counsel (ALEC) led by Color of Change and some of the same groups targeting conservative talk radio: Here’s how it works.  An issue which is neutral, such as voter i.d. laws, is portrayed as...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 17, 2012 27 Comments

The "anti-pinkwashing" campaign continues in all its irony. Israel is to be "featured" at the annual Equality Forum on May 3-6 in Philadelphia, based on Israel's record on gay issues.  Israel, of course, is the only nation in the Middle East where homosexuality is not punished, much less punished with...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 17, 2012 31 Comments

From Linda in Tennessee, a variation on the Coexist bumper sticker: I was riding shotgun today...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 16, 2012 12 Comments

A PPP poll for Daily Kos shows Gov. Scott Walker in a good position: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker leads all of his Democratic challengers in the Wisconsin recall election, per a new Public Policy Polling poll out this afternoon. Walker, the incumbent governor, has a 5-point lead...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 16, 2012 26 Comments

you know the Democratic Party has a problem. From his going away interview (almost) in New York Magazine (italics added)(h/t @ByronYork): You think Obama overinterpreted his mandate with health care? The problem with health care is this: Health care is enormously important to people. When you tell them that...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 16, 2012 94 Comments

Defeating Barack Obama is a priority. So is keeping the presumptive nominee from etch-a-sketching and erasing the conservative movement. Via Byron York: At a closed-to-the-press Florida fundraiser Sunday night at which his remarks were overheard by some reporters standing outside, Mitt Romney was asked about his media strategy...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 16, 2012 22 Comments

This afternoon I received my 5000th follower on Twitter. If you are on Twitter, you can follow me at @LegInsurrection.  If you are not on Twitter, get on it. Facebook switched everyone to the new Timeline view.  You can "like" LI's Facebook page, which has just over...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 16, 2012 23 Comments

“Barack Obama Deficit-Slayer”, by Matthew Yglesias, June 22, 2009: As the economy recovers, tax revenues will rise, social safety net outlays will fall, and stimulus measures will begin to tamp down. If we can assume further growth in 2011, the complete expiry of Recovery Act provisions, and...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 16, 2012 17 Comments

Considering the bumper sticker below, spotted in Ithaca, a little history lesson is in order: The Saint Patrick's Day Four (also, The Saint Patrick's Four, or SP4) are four American peace activists of Irish Catholic heritage who poured their own blood on the walls, posters, windows,...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 15, 2012 28 Comments

This video (via Above The Law, h/t tip from Badger Pundit) was taken on the edge of the Harvard Law School campus.  The building in the opening shot is a new building where Wyeth Hall, the dorm I lived in first year, used to stand. They...

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