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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 January 14, 2010 6 Comments

The Senate health care bill, which Martha Coakley supports, contains a massive tax on the middle class which will hit union members particularly hard. The tax on so-called "Cadillac" health plans is opposed by organized labor, and could be a big reason why union rank-and-file...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 14, 2010 13 Comments

The HillBuzz guys warned that the trolls would come out in full force if it looked like Scott Brown was getting close in the polls:We are writing to you as moderate Democrats who fought for Hillary Clinton all through 2007-2008, then became Democrats for McCain/Palin...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 13, 2010 33 Comments

The Massachusetts special election continues to amaze. Democratic candidate Martha Coakley has taken a swipe at Fenway Park fans:Coakley bristles at the suggestion that, with so little time left, in an election with such high stakes, she is being too passive.“As opposed to standing outside...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 13, 2010 62 Comments

A hot story today is how a reporter for The Weekly Standard was shoved to the ground by a Martha Coakley campaign worker when the reporter tried to ask Coakley why she was attending a fundraiser with lobbyists.But another part of the story, as pointed...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 13, 2010 4 Comments

Martha Coakley attended a lobbyist fundraiser in Washington, D.C. last night, at which she received bundled donations from dozens of health care lobbyists and Washington insiders.Coakley, when questioned about the fundraiser, said that it originally was planned as a unity event:"We planned an event after...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 12, 2010 13 Comments

This account of Martha Coakley's reaction to Scott Brown's rise in the polls paints Coakley as a mostly clueless politician (emphasis mine):On a private conference call with DNC chair Tim Kaine and top Dem donors this afternoon, Dem Senate candidate Martha Coakley acknowledged that GOPer...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 12, 2010 3 Comments

Rasmussen has released the results of its new polling, and it is a shocker: The Massachusetts’ special U.S. Senate election has gotten tighter, but the general dynamics remain the same. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in the state finds Massachusetts Attorney...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 12, 2010 2 Comments

There was a time, before Martha Coakley went on vacation and her political house caught fire, that blogging for Scott Brown was somewhat lonely. The bad old days. Time to bring this one home. (Memeorandum 1-12-2010 5:30 p.m.)--------------------------------------------Related Posts:Will Union Members Walk The Plank For...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 12, 2010 12 Comments

A campaign theme of Martha Coakley, including television ads which started running yesterday, attacks Scott Brown for supposedly sponsoring a bill to deny medical care to rape victims.In fact, Brown merely proposed a religious exemption which would exempt those with a religious belief against providing...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 12, 2010 5 Comments

Scott Brown's Money Bomb yesterday raised over $1.3 million in 24 hours, mostly in small donations. Consistent with his theme that this is the People's seat, not the Kennedy or Democrats' seat, Brown sought support from the people who feel shut out of the political...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 11, 2010 12 Comments

"With all due respect. It's not the Kennedy seat, and it's not the Democrats' seat. It's the People's seat."[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJEEQHOnI2Q]--------------------------------------------Follow me on Twitter and Facebook...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 11, 2010 11 Comments

Last Saturday I was at the Needham campaign headquarters of Scott Brown, and I filed two reports of what I found. My two reports are here and here. Today I spent an hour at the Wrentham (Brown's hometown) local campaign "office" not far from the Patriots...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 11, 2010 0 Comments

Tonight at 7 p.m. is a televised debate in the Massachusetts Senate special election.All three candidates will be participating, since Martha Coakley refuses to debate Scott Brown one-on-one, despite calls from the Boston Globe and others.SEIU and other unions are organizing "visibility" for Coakley supporters...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 11, 2010 17 Comments

Scott Brown's Money Bomb is today. The special election is a week from tomorrow.If you've read this blog, you know that there is a chance of victory for Brown if he keeps surging. But he needs money to do that. A Scott Brown victory may...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 10, 2010 16 Comments

Democrats of Massachusetts, listen up. The special election is all but over. Martha Coakley has won.No need to show up to vote, since DownWithTyranny has pronounced that all polls showing the race tightening are worthless:Many of the pollsters and pundits predicting a Republican win in...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 10, 2010 14 Comments

Obama wins New Hampshire primary in a landslide!That was the prediction of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center and most other pollsters prior to the primary. In fact, Hillary Clinton won the primary, causing much hand wringing. This shows us that we need to...

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

This should motivate you. This sort of attitude has motivated me for years. From an erudite "reality-based" pundit at Blue Mass:Let's just be obvious about this: Scott Brown has absolutely no business being in the same area code as Martha Coakley. Not to...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 09, 2010 20 Comments

This is a follow up to my earlier report on my day at Scott Brown's campaign headquarters in Needham, Massachusetts, in the western suburbs of Boston.My expectations were fairly low. I figured I'd stay an hour or so, talk to some people, get a better...

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