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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 December 29, 2010 7 Comments

Here are Legal Insurrection's Official predictions for 2011:Obama will give an unscripted speech announcing he is resigning to take a year-long road trip to play golf in each of the 57 states.Joe Biden, the second in line to the presidency, will become President upon Obama's resignation, and head...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 28, 2010 8 Comments

Everyone seems to be doing the "Best Of" thing this time of year.Worth a try?  If so, what?Would it be completely pretentious to do a "Best Of" my posts for the past year? If not, any favorites?(In case you were wondering, I am not taking...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 28, 2010 7 Comments

Heroes of the American Left, Bradley Manning and Julian Assange, have destroyed the best hope for ridding Zimbabwe of madman Robert Mugabe by releasing U.S. State Department cables of communications  between Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, the leading opponent of Mugabe, and U.S. and E.U. officials,...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 28, 2010 14 Comments

But, but, there was scientific consensus, so why is anyone questioning the theory or looking for evidence to the contrary?As reported by AP (emphasis mine):Israeli archaeologists said Monday they may have found the earliest evidence yet for the existence of modern man, and if so, it...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 28, 2010 1 Comment

over the long holiday weekend, but really need to read now that you are back at work and have all day to waste pretending you are doing work on the computer:Lame Duck Congresses - Venezuela v. U.S. "So at what point in time should global...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 28, 2010 4 Comments

Alfred Kahn has passed away.  As you travel during the holidays, shopping around for cheap airfares, you have Kahn to thank.  Kahn, a Professor at Cornell, was responsible for deregulating the airline industry.I realize all you kids think airfare competition always has been a fact...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 28, 2010 1 Comment

When the first challenges to the health care mandate were brought, the legal theories were dismissed as frivolous.  Despite numbers showing a majority against the mandate, few believed the mandate could be overturned, and the numbers had stagnated.Then earlier this month a judge in Virginia...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 27, 2010 17 Comments

That's the title of a post by Law Professor Stephen Bainbridge about Economics Professor Brad DeLong, of U.Cal Berkeley, in which Bainbridge collects links about DeLong from a variety of academic bloggers who have had the misfortune of having to deal with DeLong. I really don't...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 27, 2010 2 Comments

Taken by a reader in St. Petersburg, Florida:(Please remember my caution about taking photos while driving.)--------------------------------------------Related Posts:Bumper Stickers - The SeriesFollow me on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTubeVisit the Legal Insurrection Shop on CafePress!...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 27, 2010 54 Comments

There is a bizarre intellectual dance taking place around the topic of Barack Obama's birthplace.  The world has been artificially divided into "Birthers" and "anti-Birthers" when in fact I suspect a large percentage or even majority of the population is neither and simply wants all the evidence...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 27, 2010 7 Comments

I have posted multiple times before about how worldwide "green" technology and a variety of high tech industries were dependent on "rare earth minerals" mined almost exclusively in China.  U.S. production was shut down almost a decade ago over environmental concerns.  Among other things, the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 27, 2010 5 Comments

Okay, the last two plus years, in which we have been called every name in the book by Obama, his administration, the Democrats in Congress, and the Democratic base, are forgiven and forgotten.Let's just make pretend it never happened:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news,...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 26, 2010 6 Comments

The Fabulous 50 Blogs Awards have been announced.  The Awards go to the best conservative blogs in various categories, using a time-tested scientific methodology similar to that used to predict the weather.Based on scientific consensus, your humble correspondent was selected as Best Law Blogger.Remember, you can't...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 26, 2010 41 Comments

The Obama administration has instituted, via regulations, the end of life counseling which was taken out of the Obamacare legislation after many people objected to the government paying for such services.As reported in The New York Times, the Obama administration took steps to conceal the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 26, 2010 5 Comments

I stumbled upon this unusual video, taken by American Jews in China and narrated in Yiddish, of man-on-the-street interviews regarding perceptions of Jews and Israel.The money line is at 7:30 of the video, in which a sympathetic Chinese man wonders whether it is true that Jews...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 25, 2010 34 Comments

If you demand to see Obama's actual birth certificate, you will be called a "Birther."  It doesn't matter if your position is that anyone ascending to a constitutional office should provide the best evidence of constitutional qualification, you're a Birther.  It doesn't matter that you...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 25, 2010 15 Comments

China is ascendant so our administration wants us to emulate China's infrastructure investments and constructions, by building high-speed and light rail projects few will use and which will further drain state budgets.It will not last.  China's ascendancy, that is.  I agree with this analysis by...

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