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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 September 16, 2011 21 Comments

Would anyone consider it "unexpected" if a variety of federal governmental agencies subjected Ford to a regulatory colonoscopy because of this commercial, which has clear political overtones.  Of course, they will not phrase it that way, it will be to "save the environment" or "protect children"...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 16, 2011 83 Comments

See dissent is patriotic. I disagree with Matt Knee's post earlier quoting Megan McArdle and Bryon Preston on the Rick Perry Gardasil issue. It's not a huge issue for me, but it's also not a health care issue since it's a question of the mandatory nature. The question...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 16, 2011 4 Comments

Turkish Prime Minsister Erdogan's agitation show no signs of letting up. He's back to threats of military confrontation with Israel: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday Israel could not do whatever it wanted in the eastern Mediterranean and that Turkish warships could be there at...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 16, 2011 14 Comments

The NY-09 and NYV-02 election results were like electroshock therapy for Democrats who worry about party before party leader, and fear a convulsion in 2012 more complete than in 2010. Imagine the election returns coming in Tuesday night as senior Democrats watched in horror, and then imagine Jack...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 16, 2011 4 Comments

It seemed so dreamy and historic at the time. You just had to put one of those on your car, and it didn't quite work out for you, now did it? (h/t reader Linda): A paroled killer’s “Obama” bumper sticker was the break that helped cops nab the man...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 15, 2011 22 Comments

Three Republican lawmakers were confronted in a Madison, Wisconsin restaurant by a man who poured beer over them when a bartender stopped him from videotaping (via Wisconsin Reporter): Madison Police responded to a disturbance at the Inn on the Park, 22 S. Carroll St., Wednesday night after a man dumped...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 15, 2011 29 Comments

Here's your "Arab Spring" and "Arab Street" for you. From a BBC correspondent (h/t Daily Dish): While walking in the street someone pushed me from behind with such force that I nearly fell over. Turning around, I found myself surrounded by five men, one of whom tried to punch...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 15, 2011 7 Comments

Dan Senor has a great article in The Wall Street Journal about how fundamentally Obama weakened our support of Israel, and Matthew Knee is following up here on the Obama's administration's belated push to shore up support in the Jewish community after the NY-09 Democratic debacle in which...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 15, 2011 20 Comments

Yesterday The National Enquirer and the blog equivalents (Wonkette, Gawker, TBogg) ran two hot button headlines about Sarah Palin based on a preview of a book written by creepy stalker Joe McGinniss.  You know the allegations, so it's not worth repeating (see Robert Stacy McCain's...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 15, 2011 8 Comments

There's an ornery mood out there. Thanks to reader Bob, who writes: Bumper sticker seen at a restaurant in Loveland, Colorado.  I saw it going into the restaurant and didn't think much of it. On the way out I saw the owner of the truck getting in...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 14, 2011 10 Comments

We've been there before, a $5 raffle for a chance to have dinner with the President of the United States. The $5 doesn't go to the government to help pay down debt, it goes to Obama's campaign.  It's a way to gin up the "small donor"...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 14, 2011 57 Comments

It's trending on Twitter as the vast right-wing conspiracy collectively mocks AttackWatch.com. After it was launched yesterday: There are so many to chose from, so consider this just a start: Please post links in comments, and I'll post images of some. Update:  Some from the comments and some I found: (link above) (link above) (link above)  ...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 14, 2011 14 Comments

When I dubbed the nascent Solyndra scandal "Teapot Solyndra" in memory of the Teapot Dome Scandal, I worried that I might be getting ahead of myself. But with this administration, it's hard to get ahead of oneself.  Fearing the worst usually is the safest bet. And that worst fear seems...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 14, 2011 18 Comments

What a night.  Two big wins in NY-09 and NV-02. Quote of the night: “It’s a very difficult district for Democrats,” said Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, noting its Democratic margins there tend to be the second lowest of all the districts in New...

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