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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.

Memeorandum is the source for what is happening in the U.S. political blogosphere. Using some mysterious method, apparently based on an algorithm and Voodoo, Memeorandum captures the hot stories from blogs and online news sources.Getting a Memeorandum thread is a good thing for a blogger,...

This is my obligatory "Obama changed his mind on military tribunals" post.Back in 2006 when the Senate debated the legislation creating constitutionally acceptable military tribunals, as a reaction to the Supreme Court ruling in the Hamdan case, Obama was confident that a full military tribunal...

This is the latest in a series on the use of the race card for political gain:Tonight is a two-fer. Extremely ironic post title, with the race card thrown in no extra charge. From John Cole at Balloon Juice, An Object Lesson on Not Being...

There will be plenty of time to analyze the wisdom or lack thereof in bringing Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to New York City for a civilian criminal trial.Plenty of times as in years and possibly decades of legal wrangling over a host of issues. But...

Yes, he did it again:Now the obligatory: When will the NY Times dust off the criticism of Bill Clinton's "almost bow" to the Emperor?"IF I see another king, I think I shall bite him," Teddy Roosevelt once growled. Offered that opportunity with the Japanese equivalent...

In honor of the first historic trip of the first "Pacific President" to the Pacific; andIn further honor of the capitalist entrepreneurship of the Chinese people who have honored the occasion with the "Obama Mao" T-shirt; andThe Communist government of China having banned the "Obama...

Someone is impersonating me using "Legal Insurrection" as a user name at Huffington Post.The person has just started placing comments at HuffPo.Any suggestions how I can track this person?My readers help is appreciated on this. Post a comment or e-mail me directly....

Justice Department announces that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is coming to NYC for a civilian court trial, with all the melodrama and lawyering-up that will entail. Can you say, "objection your honor, my client was waterboarded"? Can you say, "Bush and Cheney really are on trial...

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, mastermind of 9/11, will be put on trial in NYC. Figures, the announcement would be made on a day I don't have much time to comment.So go here for some thoughts:Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to Be Sent to New York for Trial9-11 Mastermind...

I really wish I had more time to devote to this today, but I don't, so I'll be quick.The hysteria, pushed by HuffPo Blogger Alison Kilkenny, over the "threat" by the Catholic Archdiocese charities to terminate services to the poor in D.C., is a typical...

Just a couple of days ago I wrote of the fundraising boycott of the Democratic National Committee and Obama campaign apparatus by liberal gay rights activists. The boycott was in reaction to almost complete inaction, and in some cases what was perceived as insulting conduct,...

Karl Eikenberry, who was in charge of training the Afghan Army from 2002-2003, and in charge of all U.S. military operations in Afghanistan from 2005-2007, now is Ambassador to Afghanistan. Eikenberry apparently is the dissenting voice on the Obama national security team which caused Obama...

Great post from the Hillary Clinton supporters at HillBuzz about Dubya and Laura Bush. Here's an excerpt, but read the whole thing (I can't wait for the Obama supporters to chalk this up to the whining of sore losers), Thank you former President George W....

Good morning. Hope you slept well. You won't tonight, after seeing this, from the CBO website: Federal Budget Deficit as a Percentage of Gross Domestic Product (By fiscal year)-------------------------------------------- Related Posts: 100% Plus Taxation Key To Permanent Dem Majority For Crying Out Loud: "Barack Obama Deficit-Slayer" Follow me on Twitter...

Obama is rejecting all Afghanistan military options presented to him by his national security team after months of consultation, and wants "revisions to clarify how and when U.S. troops would turn over responsibility to the Afghan government."Will someone tell our President this is not a...

Ezra Klein posts The $900 billion mistake, about how Barack Obama picked that number out of thin air in his September 2009 speech on health care, as to what health care reform should cost. That arbitrary number has flummoxed Democrats in coming up with a...

As reported by AP:John J. O'Connor III, the husband of retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, has died.The court said that O'Connor, 79, died Wednesday in Phoenix, Ariz., of complications arising from Alzheimer's disease.John O'Connor, himself a lawyer, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's nearly two...

Obama's speech at Fort Hood has been declared to be his greatest speech ever. Seemed appropriate, but pedestrian, to me. Now if Obama had spoken from the heart without a teleprompter, that would have been special.I much preferred Obama's "my pet goat" speech, when Obama...