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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 July 06, 2010 25 Comments

Here is a copy of the Complaint just filed by the United States against Arizona seeking to invalidate S.B 1070, the Arizona immigration bill. Copies also of the Civil Cover Sheet, Summons to the the State of Arizona, and Summons to Gov. Jan Brewer.The U.S....

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 06, 2010 6 Comments

Warren, Rhode Island, has new sidewalks from the center of town down Rte 103 to the Massachusetts border, almost two miles away.  Thanks to the Stimulus Plan.I have driven that road hundreds of times, and also have cycled the route many times.I never noticed any particular...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 06, 2010 2 Comments

While on a walk in the neighborhood this weekend, I saw this banner in honor of a father who just returned from Iraq: "Welcome Home Daddy, We Missed You."--------------------------------------------Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube ...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 06, 2010 7 Comments

A few days ago, Sharron Angle launched a new format to her website, giving the campaign a more professional looking web portal.Harry Reid's campaign, however, took the code from the prior Angle website and launched a website called "TheRealSharronAngle.com." The fake website was what, in...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 05, 2010 8 Comments

Rasmussen released earlier today another health care poll, finding that by almost 2-to-1 margins, Americans support repeal of ObamaCare: Sixty percent (60%) of voters nationwide favor repeal of the recently passed health care law, including 49% who Strongly Favor repeal. A new Rasmussen Reports national...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 05, 2010 0 Comments

In a profile of Paul Teller, Executive Director of the Republican Study Committee, Mary Ann Akers writes:He's the bomb thrower in the shadows for more than 100 RSC members, whose purist conservative mission often poses a challenge for the more pragmatic House Republican leadership. Where...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 05, 2010 0 Comments

The Democratic National Committee issued the following statement regarding Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele's comments that Afghanistan was a war of Obama's "choosing" and that history shows that land wars cannot be won in Afghanistan (emphasis mine):Here goes Michael Steele setting policy for the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 05, 2010 15 Comments

Paul Krugman reserved July 4 for what must be a deliberate deception, Punishing the Jobless, on the issue of extending unemployment benefits, which recently failed to pass the Senate.Krugman blames Republicans, whom he terms "heartless":By the heartless, I mean Republicans who have made the cynical...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 05, 2010 1 Comment

Duh:Conservatives Are More Than Twice as Likely as Liberals to Be Strongly Patriotic, Says Gallup Poll: "Conservatives are more than twice as likely as liberals to express very strong patriotism, according to a new USA Today/Gallup poll in which 48 percent of conservatives said they...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 04, 2010 5 Comments

I almost forgot that today is the anniversary of another liberation, the Israeli commando raid to free hostages of PLO terrorists in Entebbe, Uganda. Thanks to @KurtSchlichter for the reminder.The leader of the commandos, and the only Israeli killed during the raid, was Yonatan Netanyahu,...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 04, 2010 4 Comments

Ronald Reagan's final speech as President, sometimes known as the "Shining City Upon A Hill" speech. But the speech was so much more. Incredible foresight on the eradication of the American memory (at 2:50), coming true before our very eyes. -------------------------------------------- Related Posts: Now "Presidential Scholars" Befool Themselves Reagan on...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 04, 2010 0 Comments

After the Rolling Stone article which brought down Gen. Stanley McChrystal, various forms of media were patting themselves on the back at the genius of the Rolling Stone reporter.But it was a mistake.The Rolling Stone article was not reporting, it was the worst of the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 04, 2010 4 Comments

... Other suggestions?[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYscemhnf88][youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3ykWbu2Gl0][youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY-iq58_oz4]--------------------------------------------Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 03, 2010 3 Comments

This is the latest in a series on the use of the race card for political gain:I was going to take tonight off, since tomorrow is Independence Day. But then I saw this column at Newsweek online, Your Dog Isn’t Racist, on the pressing issue...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 03, 2010 4 Comments

Didn't make the Top 25 Conservatives on Twitter.  Or the 100 Conservatives Most Hated By The Left.  Or even the People Minnesota Liberals Hate Most.But thanks to Dan Collins, I have a special place reserved on the Island of Misfit Bloggers.Also known as, A Place...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 03, 2010 29 Comments

Photo of our fearless leaders on the way to Robert Byrd's memorial service.Any thoughts on what Joe Biden was saying to the military officer?-------------------------------------------- Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube ...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 03, 2010 7 Comments

A California appeals court has upheld an Order by Gov. Arnold Schwarzennager temporarily cutting state employees back to the federal minimum wage since the California legislature has not passed a budget and is facing a $19 billion annual deficit. As reported in The San Francisco...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 02, 2010 4 Comments

Last summer's Cash for Clunkers program artificially boosted used car prices by requiring destruction of the clunkers, thereby restricting the supply of used cars.That was bad enough for people looking to buy used cars.But the market distortion caused by government intervention is hitting Rhode Islanders...

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