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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.

So many of the important decisions of the United States Supreme Court are decided by a single vote.Often that vote is Anthony Kennedy. Not a bad single vote to have, considering the alternatives.What if Kennedy's single vote didn't matter anymore because Kennedy or one of...

How did I miss this. Did The Daily Caller intend it?By "it," I mean the significance of the fact that the Journolist emails about Trig Palin were posted today. In my post about the emails, I gave no note to the date.Sarah Palin issued a...

No one with credibility is talking about the Nevada Senate race being over despite Sharron Angle's campaign having to start almost from scratch after the primaries.That start has taken time to get going, as Angle did not have a multi-million dollar campaign apparatus in place...

I have posted before about the left-wing blogosphere's obsession with mocking Trig Palin and attacking Sarah Palin for bringing Trig on stage during the campaign.Now, in the latest revelations from the Journolist archives, The Daily Caller reprints Journolist emails regarding Trig. And obsessed with...

Obamacare as we know it is not enough, Reid to Netroots: "We're Going To Have a Public Option":Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, seeking to console liberal activists who were disappointed by the final version of the national health care law, assured them that there would...

Question:How many of the Journolists who object to the release of their e-mails regarding the 2008 presidential campaign will spend the next several days gloating over the publication by WikiLeaks of over 90,000 classified military documents regarding the war in Afghanistan?An inconvenient truth?--------------------------------------------Related Posts:What William...

Thanks to a reader from Rhode Island for sending photos of another multi-million dollar sidewalk project in our humble unit-of-measurement state.You will recall my now-classic post about the miles of sidewalks leading from Warren, Rhode Island, to the Massachusetts state line, Miles of Sidewalks, and...

"I am obliged to confess I should sooner live in a society governed by the first 400 names in the Boston telephone directory, than in a society governed by the 400 members of the Journolist."From iOwnTheWorld (click for ever increasing and updated photo montage)(via Instapundit):[Note to...

This is the latest in a series on the use of the race card for political gain:Bet you thought I would write about When Andy Met Shirley. Sorry to disappoint.Tonight we delve into the world of diversity consultants.The diversity consultant industry is pretty much like...

Ezra Klein, proprietor of the Journolist, the day after Election Day, 2008: There was hardly a specter lurking in the American subconscious that [Barack Hussein Obama] did not call forth. And that was his great strength. He robbed fear of its ability to work through...

Sharron Angle's campaign finally is rolling out some good television commercials.It took Angle a full month to put together a professional campaign team and operation, since she ran the primary essentially from her living room.That month has given the highly professional -- but abusive --...

Based on reports of the hearing before the federal District Court Judge yesterday, it appears that the provision of the Arizona immigration law requiring law enforcement to verify immigration status is likely to survive, while other aspects creating independent state criminal sanctions will not.This outcome...

On February 18, 2010, I wrote a post titled Progressive Bloggers In The Wizard of Oz, about a trip by several "progressive" bloggers to meet at The White House with Jared Bernstein, Chief Economist to Vice President Joe Biden.The post carried a photo of serious-looking...

...Shirley Sherrod peaked.Yesterday.--------------------------------------------Related Posts:Still Waiting For ApologiesContext! For We, But Not For TheeFollow me on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube...

We all know, as a matter of historical Harry Reid factoid, that the Iraq war was lost and the surge failed.We now also know, as a matter of historical Harry Reid factoid, that the federal government bailout of GM and Chrysler saved Ford:[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JszYjhXyg3k]Reid is more...

Now that the left-wing blogosphere and Democratic media operatives Media Matters and Think Progress have found the Religion of Context when it comes to Shirley Sherrod ...

Matthew Yglesias, who blogs at Think Progress, July 21, The Shame of the Daily Caller:The Caller appears to have access to a very large proportion of JournoList emails and they can’t come up with anything that withstands cursory scrutiny.The Daily Caller, July 22:Blogger Matt Yglesias...

Am I the only one to see the multiple levels of irony in this?Ezra Klein, current employee of The Washington Post: "I actually expect this to be my final public comment on the subject."Nate Silver, future employee of The New York Times: "p.s. This is...