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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.

The supporters of a government-run "public option" are touting a CBS/NY Times poll which purportedly shows that 65% of people support a public option. But examine how the question is framed, and it is clear that the question is intended to elicit a favorable response:"Would...

During the 2008 campaign, there were serious concerns that al-Qaeda would attempt to disrupt the elections in the United States as it had disrupted the elections in Spain.Warnings about the threat of terrorism gave prominent left-wing bloggers an excuse to accuse the McCain campaign of...

The efforts by Barack Obama to force NY Gov. David Paterson not to run for election in 2010 have roiled NY politics, and baffled many who wonder why a President felt the need to get involved in state politics.The crushing NY State budget gap has...

The saga of Manuel Zelaya should be a teachable moment to the Obama administration. As reported in the Miami Herald, Zelaya's insanity is seeping out. Zelaya claims he is the victim of radiation and mind control experiments and is being targeted by Israeli mercenaries.This is...

I have argued before that the focus on the public option, while necessary, missed the key defect in Democratic health care restructuring plans. The problem is the health care mandate, which by the way, Barack Obama opposed during the campaign.The mandate that every individual carry...

Barack Obama's speech to the United Nations today had some positive aspects. He gave lip service to freedom of the individual and political rights.But overall, the speech was more of the same, that whatever the United States has done right, was just making up for...

Barack Obama speaks at the U.N. today. What an opportunity, to call out all the thugs and dictators, and to defend personal and political freedom which is under attack daily in Venezuela, Iran and elsewhere. A real opportunity.But if history is any guide, it is...

Thank you, HondurasFor standing up to the U.S. government's legally dishonest and morally bankrupt attempt to engineer the return to power of Manuel Zelaya, the Hugo Chavez wannabe. You have exposed the lie (are we allowed to say that word?) that the Obama administration supports...

How oddly circular and ironic that Jimmy Carter believes that most opponents of Obama's policies are racists. In fact, racism is not Obama's main problem. Jimmy Carter is.In modern politics, the most damaging label a President can receive is to be compared to Jimmy Carter,...

Barack Obama is flooding the news shows this morning with appearances on five networks (excluding Fox, of course). More of the same, as if an address to a joint session of Congress and "major" speeches almost every day were not enough.The attitude from the top...

If you've noticed, thing have been slow here the past couple of days. Still trying to recover from the flu and tonight starts the Jewish New Year, so I will not be doing new posts until Sunday. In the meantime, check out the blogs...

Big news in Britain. If you move, you no longer have to drop your physician.Why would you have to drop your physician, you ask. Because in Britain's nationalized health system, doctors are rationed by geographic area and restricted to serving people in that area. As...

Chris Matthews is on Hardball right now making the argument that the assassination of John Kennedy was the result of right wing hate speech which incited people to violence. Even though Lee Harvey Oswald was an avowed communist who lived previously in the Soviet Union....

The NY Times has been largely silent on the ACORN fiasco until today, with an article titled Conservatives Draw Blood From Acorn, Favored Foe. The Times befools itself with the following analysis of why no one previously was able to convince the Obama administration to...

The increasingly hysterical use of the the race card by liberal columnists, bloggers and politicians reflects the last gasps of people who, being unable to win an argument on the merits, seek to end the argument.While the false accusation of racism is not a new...

This video (h/t Tim Blair) carries a certain satisfaction. It shows the premature detonation of a roadside IED, taking out the bad guys planting the devide before the good guys had to fire a shot. That alone makes it worth posting.But listen to the...

In John Hawkins' latest quarterly ranking of Best Conservative Blogs, I have moved up to #16, from my previous #18 spot. Thanks John!Please remember, these rankings are based upon scientific consensus, so the results may not be questioned (at least not this quarter).--------------------------------------------Follow me on...

One of the hallmarks of an Obama health care speech is to pick one or two or three anecdotes of people who have had trouble with their insurance company as proof that we need to overhaul the entire insurance industry and health care system. These...