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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 22, 2009 15 Comments

I have been warning since early June about the danger of the Independent Medicare Advisory Board.IMAB is a board appointed by the President with congressional approval, to submit recommendations on Medicare payments and costs. IMAB is modeled, somewhat, on the Base Closing Commission which made...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 21, 2009 1 Comment

As part of his broad attack this weekend on opponents of the Democratic health care plans, Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) declared:"The lowest of the low was the Republican vote against funding and supporting our troops in the field in a time of war. As a device...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 21, 2009 6 Comments

What did the tanning industry ever do to deserve being singled out for a new 10% surtax on all indoor tanning services in Harry Reid's Manager's Amendment?The tanning tax was a substitute for the cosmetic surgery tax (a/k/a Botax) in the prior bill.This may seem...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 21, 2009 20 Comments

Sheldon Whitehouse, my Democratic Senator from Rhode Island, has joined the Alan Grayson wing of the Democratic party with a speech so over the top that it is an infuriating embarrassment. I wasn't going to post on this. But then I listened to the speech, in...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 20, 2009 9 Comments

The meme circulating today is that Republicans made a tactical error by failing to cooperate more with Democrats early on in the health care debate, pushing so-called moderate Democrats like Evan Bayh into the arms of Harry Reid and Barack Obama.That meme is a bunch...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 20, 2009 10 Comments

In order to get large pharmaceutical companies behind Obamacare, including getting the drug companies to advertise, the Obama administration cut a deal, among other things, that the re-importation of drugs would not generally be permitted.Unlike some issues, there are legitimate points on each side of...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 20, 2009 10 Comments

I wonder how Nebraskans will feel waking up this morning knowing that their Senator Ben Nelson sold out the rest of the nation on Medicaid reimbursement in order to secure a deal for Nebraska.While Nebraskans will get new Medicaid mandates covered by the federal government,...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 20, 2009 3 Comments

Here is a photo of our patio taken a little before 8 a.m. this morning. Looks like we have almost a foot of snow. We are expecting snow for about 5 more hours.--------------------------------------------Follow me on Twitter and Facebook...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 19, 2009 63 Comments

I was in the car most of the day, so I haven't had a chance to post on the Ben Nelson sellout. So here are some initial thoughts:Yes, it is that bad. The Democrats are about to put in place the legislative, regulatory and bureaucratic...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 19, 2009 2 Comments

This is the latest in a series on the use of the race card for political gain:Vice-President/Executive Editor Tim King writing at Salem News.com plays the "Rush-O'Reilly-Beck inspire white supremacist killers" hand, while slipping in the Godwin's Law card from the bottom of the deck,...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 19, 2009 3 Comments

Saturday morning Harry Reid unveils, we think, The Real Bill. They're even wheeling snowmobiling in Robert Byrd for the votes on procedural issues so that Reid can move The Real Bill forward as an amendment to the current version. Since the amendment will have to...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 18, 2009 5 Comments

I've posted about Alan Grayson before. The Congressman from Florida is the class clown of Congress (that's including Al Franken in the equation). Grayson not only is nuts, he has dangerous tendencies. As reported at Politico, Grayson is trying to get the Justice Department to prosecute...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 18, 2009 3 Comments

Not Sarah Palin, Not Republicans in Congress. Nat Hentoff: I try to avoid hyperbole, but I think Obama is possibly the most dangerous and destructive president we have ever had. An example is ObamaCare, which is now embattled in the Senate. If that goes through...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 18, 2009 2 Comments

For our country, and yes, our President.That's the feeling I had watching Obama's climate speech in Copenhagen, and the whole theater of the bizarre surrounding it.Read into "sad and embarrassed" what you want.No other brilliant thoughts this afternoon. Not for lack of trying.Except, "pathetic."And, too...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 18, 2009 7 Comments

Just do as he says, or you must want to kill the world: “The time for talk is over, this is the bottom line: We can embrace this accord, take a substantial step forward. We can do that and everyone who is in this room...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 17, 2009 4 Comments

From my new favorite screen shot source:--------------------------------------------Related Posts:From The Department of Obvious HeadlinesI'll Have Some Palin Derangement Syndrome with my Turkey, PleaseNude Swiss Hikers Rescue NY Times Follow me on Twitter and Facebook...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 17, 2009 14 Comments

PDS item of the day: A paparazzo with a long-range telephoto lense, hiding out in Hawaii to photograph Sarah Palin on vacation, snapped a photo of Palin in a campaign visor with the word "McCain" blackened out. TMZ scored the coup with the photo, and...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 17, 2009 4 Comments

From The Boston Herald:Republican Senate hopeful Scott Brown has filed a state ethics complaint after a report that a union backing rival Martha Coakley used state resources to urge workers to volunteer for her campaign.After Brown’s complaint Wednesday, the operations director of Service Employees International...

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