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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 August 08, 2020 52 Comments
In a nation filled with petty government tyrants and bullies empowered by coronavirus panic, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer stands out as possibly the most petty and most tyranical of the bunch. Whitmer has shown such a unique combination of fanatical self-righteousness and psychopathic vindictiveness that most people wrote off her vice-presidential prospects.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 05, 2020 99 Comments
The Great Debate is whether Joe Biden will debate Donald Trump in the series of three debates currently suggested. While insisting that Biden "looks forward" to debating, you can see the seeds of an excuse being planted, centered around Trump allegedly abusing the debate process AND the coronavirus making travel and appearances risky to health.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 01, 2020 78 Comments
So maybe as early as next week Joe Biden will announce who he is picking to be his vice presidential nominee. Or more precisely, the vice president nominee will be picked, Biden will be informed, will come to believe he made the choice, and will appear in front of a camera with a note written in large crayon with the person's name.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 31, 2020 52 Comments
The Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit has vacated the death penalty against Boston Marathon Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, ordering a new penalty phase trial. The Court also reversed the underlying convictions on several relatively-minor gun possession counts.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 28, 2020 90 Comments
Inside Higher Ed provides pretty thorough and good coverage of, ahem, higher ed. I don't visit it daily, generally when there's some issue that pops up. I have found their comment section to be relatively sane, *relatively* being the key word. So I was surprised when I just noticed that Inside Higher Ed shut down its comment sections as of July 1, 2020:
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