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.
Back to the problem I posed in 2017: "So I’m thinking through what it will mean to live without institutions."...
"[T]he Court should instruct the district court to enter a preliminary injunction enjoining the Department from enforcing the Policy. New York, like all other states, should allocate live-saving treatments to all its residents based on neutral, objective criteria regardless of their race or ethnicity."...
Lefty Radio Host Thom Hartmann: "Six Republicans on the Supreme Court just announced — a story that has largely flown under the nation’s political radar — that they’ll consider pre-rigging the presidential election of 2024."...
WSJ Editorial Board: "Kirkland’s invertebrate abdication illustrates how progressive ideology dominates the commanding heights of American law, business and culture. If you want to know why a groundswell of opposition against this woke conformity is building in the provinces, this is it."...
Among other things, lawful concealed carry of guns would be banned almost everywhere by designating much of society a "sensitive" location. State governors like Kathy Hochul in New York are banking on the limited SCOTUS docket to evade the ruling, even if they ultimately lose....
Chief Justice Roberts for the 6-3 Majority - "Capping carbon dioxide emissions at a level that will force a nationwide transition away from the use of coal to generate electricity may be a sensible “solution to the crisis of the day." ...
CNN's Chris Cillizza: "The whispers of Hillary Clinton 2024 have started"...
Gorsuch for the 6-3 Majority: "Joseph Kennedy lost his job as a high school football coach because he knelt at midfield after games to offer a quiet prayer of thanks...
Axios: "Experts warned that the U.S. will see devastating economic consequences from the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade."...
US Department of Justice to rise above politics and to use its vast resources to effectuate the Supreme Court's rulings -- JUST KIDDING....
The shock of the ruling doesn't seem to be there. Because it wasn't a surprise....
Report: "The Department of Homeland Security is communicating with Catholic Churches and pregnancy centers, telling them to be prepared for a 'Night of Rage' by pro-abortion groups pledging "extreme violence" the night of the Dobbs decision."...
"Because the State of New York issues public-carry licenses only when an applicant demonstrates a special need for self-defense, we conclude that the State’s licensing regime violates the Constitution."...
Florida is going to have to make more room....
Ruling: The state does not have to fund private education, but once it decides to fund private education, it can't discriminate against religious private schools. Let the hysterical overreactions begin!...
Just three days after I launched the then-solo blog Legal Insurrection in October 2008, I wrote a post that rings true to this day....
Sheldon Whitehouse's war on the Supreme Court just took a particularly insidious turn, but unlike his obsessions with Brett Kavanaugh's "boofing" and "ralphing," Whitehouse's latest obsession is nothing to laugh about. It's part of a rising tide of Democrat rhetoric inciting activists against the conservative...
