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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 May 10, 2010 4 Comments

In a post early this morning, I noted that in written answers to questions in connection with her confirmation hearings for Solicitor General, Elena Kagan wrote:"There is no federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage."In response to my post, Allahpundit (here and here), Ann Althouse and...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 10, 2010 26 Comments

Later this morning, Elena Kagan will be nominated for the Supreme Court seat currently held by John Paul Stevens. The meme has taken hold that Kagan is a stealth candidate who has avoided taking positions on important constitutional or other issues throughout her career. But on one...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 09, 2010 9 Comments

The reaction to the Arizona Immigration law has been outlandish. While there are legitimate civil liberties concerns, as there are with many laws, the use of terms such as racist and Nazi to describe the law went beyond the pale.Eric Holder agrees that there...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 09, 2010 16 Comments

The left-wing blogosphere hates Elena Kagan. Really. The venom percolating up from the depths of the nutroots is getting pretty toxic.For the most part, the right-wing blogosphere is sitting back and enjoying how people like Glenn Greenwald are tripping all over themselves to attack Kagan...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 08, 2010 8 Comments

This is the latest in a series on the use of the race card for political gain:Charles Blow, the NY Times' once-a-week "visual Op-Ed columnist," is out to make a name for himself. Much like Frank Rich, who jumped from theater critic to political flame...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 08, 2010 12 Comments

Strange. I'm not sure I support Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court, assuming she is the nominee, but I'm already finding myself having to defend her.If Elena Kagan were a liberal legal hero, with a long record of reaching the correct conclusions from the left-wing...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 07, 2010 14 Comments

Or are we just careening from crisis to mishap to near catastrophe, like a spinning top as it loses speed?Just wondering.Have a nice weekend.--------------------------------------------Follow me on Twitter and Facebook...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 07, 2010 4 Comments

Elena Kagan "reportedly" is going to be Obama's pick. Which means that Elena Kagan probably will not be Obama's pick, or at least don't bet on it.Quite the topic in the law-related blogosphere is Kagan's sparce paper record, at least in comparison to other nominees...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 07, 2010 9 Comments

I've been feeling lately that maybe I took the wrong career path.Investment law is interesting and satisfying, but I can't escape the gnawing feeling that there could have been other, even more titillating fields in which to concentrate.Cornell Prof. Michael Lynn obviously is having no...

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

All is good. God saved the pubs.Update: Jumping in Pools has more on the beer campaign.--------------------------------------------Related Posts:Low-Slung Baggy Pants Are A Human RightWorst. Ever.We Are All Gillian Duffy NowFollow me on Twitter and Facebook...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 06, 2010 10 Comments

The Onion recently released a spoof of a mythical Supreme Court ruling upholding the right to freedom of speech, replete with a fauxto of Ruth Bader Ginsburg flipping a double bird. As with many productions by The Onion, there was a glancing plausibility to the...

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

Hate Springs Eternal, by Paul Krugman (emphasis mine):"Racism, misogyny and character assassination are all ways of distracting voters from the issues, and people who care about the issues have a shared interest in making the politics of hatred unacceptable."Racism, misogyny, character assassination, and the politics...

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

This is my obligatory "Tommy, you're doing a heck of a job" post. Or more appropriately, "Tommy, keep paddling."Jake reports, I repeat:Though his agency was charged with coordinating the federal response to the major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Department of the Interior...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 05, 2010 18 Comments

The Washington Post, among other mainstream media outlets, relentlessly stokes claims that Tea Partiers are racist.Eugene Robinson accuses almost everyone who opposes the Obama agenda -- but particularly those active in the Tea Party movement -- of being motivated by racism and prone to violence.Jonathan...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 05, 2010 4 Comments

That is why my first reads in the morning are Politico:And Chris Cillizza: Without them, I wouldn't know what to think.-------------------------------------------- Follow me on Twitter and Facebook ...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 05, 2010 17 Comments

I saw a thread on Memeorandum linking to a ridiculous post, titled Bush, Slave Labor and Arizona, by the founder and Editor of BuzzFlash.com, Mark Karlin.BuzzFlash bills itself as a progressive online community, which probably is why I had not heard of it before, despite...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 04, 2010 11 Comments

I was waiting for this ruling, because I could not stand living in a world where it was illegal to wear baggy pants so low that your ass showed.From Britain, our window into the future where underpants get to see the light of day (emphasis...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 04, 2010 42 Comments

The core of Democratic Party political strategy is falling apart. As reported by The New York Times, Black Hopefuls Pick This Year in G.O.P. Races:Among the many reverberations of President Obama’s election, here is one he probably never anticipated: at least 32 African-Americans are running...

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