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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 October 30, 2011 11 Comments

Slow day here, traveled back from Palm Desert.  I never watched the show The OC, but I hope the scenery is better than what I saw on the drive back to the airport. Where has everyone gone this weekend? Ah, this explains it, Power outages from...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 30, 2011 8 Comments

Seeing not very far into the future: UNEXPECTED OCTOBER SNOWSTORM, WORST SINCE GREAT DEPRESSION, BLAMED FOR LAGGING ECONOMIC RECOVERY, SAYS OBAMA SPOKESMAN...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 30, 2011 20 Comments

Fascinating account of how new environmental regulations and restoration projects are emptying the northern California countryside, Rural rebellion brewing: Sacramento is Government Central, a land of overly pensioned bureaucrats and restaurant discounts for state workers. But way up in the North State, one finds a small...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 30, 2011 12 Comments

Sometimes the Editorial Board of The NY Times gets it right, even if for the wrong reasons, as in this editorial, The Court and the Next President: When Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. began the new Supreme Court term by congratulating Antonin Scalia on his 25th...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 30, 2011 7 Comments

From Walter Russell Mead referencing cancellation of his own speech, and taking it all in good humor: I was scheduled to give a talk at the Hannah Arendt conference here at Bard this evening on the problems of the green movement in dealing with the connections...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 30, 2011 5 Comments

just to sing? Thanks to reader Joe, who writes: Spotted this unfortunate billboard in Chicago (which is shocking, I know) on Western Ave near the I-90 entrance ramp. Felt like it was juxtaposed nicely with the billboard from those greedy, evil corporate fat cats at Big Red. Keep up all the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 29, 2011 11 Comments

The pretext for the U.N. no fly zone in Libya was to protect Libyan civilians from Gaddafi's army.  The U.S., France and others then exceeded the U.N. mandate by attacking Gaddafi's forces more generally, leading eventually to Gaddafi's capture and field execution. Back in March I...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 29, 2011 11 Comments

Because these are the types of headlines from Tea Party rallies: Occupy Wall Street Protester Threatens Fox 5 News Reporter Report: Fights erupt among Occupy Wall Street protesters Occupy Madison loses permit (due to public masterbation) Woman charged with pimping teen recruited at Occupy NH rally In one sense, it's...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 29, 2011 28 Comments

Never has there been a love as true or as blind as media Obamalove, as evidenced by this adoring puff piece written by Jonathan Alter for Bloomberg News, Obama Miracle is White House Free of Scandal: President Barack Obama goes into the 2012 with a weak economy that...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 29, 2011 8 Comments

Thanks to reader Brian who saw this in the parking lot of this brew pub in Indianapolis, and writes: I live in a much more downscale area, much more blue collar, and I never see this kind of thing in my neighborhood.  Apparently ostentatious progressivism is...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 28, 2011 16 Comments

The title is facetious, of course, but nonetheless relevant in light of this "leak" of a portion of Will's upcoming column which skewers Mitt Romney: Romney, supposedly the Republican most electable next November, is a recidivist  reviser of his principles who is not only becoming less...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 28, 2011 12 Comments

Elizabeth Warren has stepped in it with her boast that she created the Occupy Wall Street movement: “I created much of the intellectual foundation for what they do,” she says. “I support what they do.” Warren's boast was an overstatement much akin to Al Gore's claim of...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 28, 2011 6 Comments

Yes, this is the point, isn't it?  It's not just about big liberal government, it's about big government. By way of example, it's why I am against centralize federal tort reform; just because you like the result doesn't mean you have to empower the federal government...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 28, 2011 6 Comments

This week in 1983 Iranian backed Shiites bombed the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 299 Marines and French soldiers. The Marines had been sent as part of an international peacekeeping force in the wake of the Lebanese civil war.  Iranian-backed Shiites who later formed Hezbollah...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 28, 2011 21 Comments

From Nile Gardiner at The Telegraph (h/t reader John): Instead of hope and change, the Obama presidency has delivered decline and despair on a scale not seen in America since the dying days of the Carter administration. Both at home and abroad, the United States is...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 28, 2011 2 Comments

Thanks to frequent photographer Jason who writes: This one was parked at a hospital in Raleigh, NC. The sun was messing me up, so I had to get right up close to get the sticker on the right. ...

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