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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.

I'm glad I spent most of yesterday traveling, so that I missed much of the blogospheric tsunami regarding Rand Paul's libertarian views on the virtue of the federal government banning racial discrimination in private businesses.Where I come down on the issue is that the history...

When Democrats get on one of their rants about the dangerous effects of corporate campaign money, what they really mean is that they are against corporate campaign money which might support Republicans.The money which comes from unions to support Democrats is quite alright with them:...

There is a legal and political drama unfolding in Central Falls, Rhode Island, which has national implications for municipalities suffocating under union contracts and pension obligations, but which has received little attention outside Rhode Island.As I posted two days ago, the City of Central Falls...

Did I say "massive fail"? Isn't this like a horse designed by a committee? There have been some pretty awful Olympic mascots, but these have to be the worst, androgynous one-eyed freaks of nature.You be the judge of the design of Wenlock andMandeville:[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEcT52By_aE]Click here for...

"Stocks fell sharply Thursday after an unexpected spike in jobless claims and as global jitters pushed the dollar higher." (via CNBC)More flesh put on the bone by The Washington Post:New jobless claims filed last week rose by 25,000 to 471,000, the government reported moments ago,...

No one could have seen this coming. From The New York Times, Voter Insurrection Turns Mainstream, Creating New Rules (emphasis mine):But to suggest that this week’s primaries are just part of the latest revolt against incumbency, brought on by pervasive economic angst, is to...

We really are into dumb territory here, with the Democratic media machine defending Richard Blumenthal on the ground that Blumenthal didn't lie about his service "in Vietnam" every time he spoke about the subject.The story line arises because earlier in the same appearance in which...

Central Falls, a Rhode Island city which gained fame when it fired its entire High School teaching staff after unions refused concessions (the unions later agreed), now has filed for receivership, the state equivalent of bankruptcy: A Rhode Island city facing a severe financial crisis...

A Democratic state legislator in Rhode Island has filed a bill similar to the immigration law recently enacted in Arizona. As reported by The Providence Journal:State Rep. Peter Palumbo, D-District 16, Cranston, has filed a bill that largely copies a controversial Arizona law considered the...

The Obama administration considers all territory Israel captured during the 1967 war to be occupied territory, including sections of Jerusalem.Israel's plan to construct new houses in a Jewish section of Jerusalem outside the pre-1967 border was the excuse the Obama administration used for the contrived...

Richard Blumenthal may have breathed life back into his political career yesterday, with a press conference in which he vigorously defended his record:But I want to say one thing to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I'm going to say this...

Just ask pro-life, pro-gun clinging, anti-Obamacare, anti-cap-and-tax Mark Critz, who pulled out a victory in PA-12 last night in a district in which Obama is unpopular:The district itself couldn’t have been more primed for a Republican victory. According to one recent poll, President Barack Obama’s...

Ex-Harvard student accused of living a lieTells us nothing. Could be so many (in)famous people.Name names.--------------------------------------------Follow me on Twitter and Facebook...

If you don't know what "it" is, then go back to sleep.If you do know what "it" is, I'd be interested in your thoughts.Because "good journalism" isn't quite satisfying."Guilty conscience"?"Atoning for sins"?"Providing cover"?Update 5-19-2010 - Here is the punch line to the editorial in The...

The bullying by Congressional committees of various unpopular industries has taken on warp speed.But in a very disturbing new tactic, Congressional Democrats specifically are targeting a sponsor of conservative media shows, particularly the Glenn Beck Show, on a flimsy pretext: Forget Goldman. New York Rep....

We are being led by ideologues who are wilfully ignorant of the legal topics about which they do not hesitate to opine. These people lack a simple inquisitiveness of the mind on topics about which they already have made up their minds.First, Attorney General Eric...

In Graham v. Florida, the Supreme Court held that it violated the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments to imprison someone with no possibility of parole based upon crimes, other than homicide, committed while a juvenile.These lines (at page 40 of the pdf.) in...

Richard Blumenthal, current Attorney General of Connecticut and Democratic candidate for Senate, has a problem. A big problem.Blumenthal is considered the overwhelming favorite to keep Chris Dodd's seat in Barack Obama's hands.But, if this NY Times report is true, Blumenthal's days should be numbered, because...