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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 January 18, 2010 8 Comments

Pictures from tonights Hometown Rally in Wrentham, Massachusetts (from our on-the-spot "correspondent" a/k/a my wife).  Join me for some live blogging on Tuesday, when I'll have pics, tweets, and other reports from many people on the ground in Massachusetts.Scott Brown's Children Arianna and Ayla (above)-------------------------------------------- Follow...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 18, 2010 17 Comments

CNN Audience Interaction Producer Eric Kuhn is all over this election, a step ahead of the rest of us, GOP candidate dominates social networking in Massachusetts:On the eve of the Massachusetts special election Tuesday to replace the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, the Republican candidate has...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 18, 2010 11 Comments

This blog will go "live" tomorrow, starting in the morning, following the developments in the Massachusetts Senate special election.Assuming the technology works (!), I'll have a live window in which people can see my posts and comment in real time (note to trolls, I still...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 18, 2010 0 Comments

Because it's not the hand of one of those truck-driving Fenway Park fans: (Image via NY Times) -------------------------------------------- Follow me on Twitter and Facebook ...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 18, 2010 7 Comments

By now, the hideous rape mailer sent out by the Massachusetts Democratic Party in support of Martha Coakley has been called out by commentators on the right and left as one of the more heinous tactics in the tawdry annals of American politics.Coakley has refused...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 18, 2010 1 Comment

Okay, it's not Jane Hamsher (who has not responded to my Open Letter), but another blogger at Firedoglake is calling for progressives to oppose Martha Coakley, Progressives, please help defeat Coakley: It is very important that progressives help defeat Coakley. Please read my explanation. The...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 17, 2010 7 Comments

PPP has just released its final poll of the Massachusetts Senate special election, and PPP gives Scott Brown a 5 point advantage, 51-46:Scott Brown leads Martha Coakley 51-46 in our final Massachusetts Senate poll, an advantage that is within the margin of error for the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 17, 2010 28 Comments

Not by choice, but by circumstance and the weight of history, this blog has become a "theme blog" in the past few weeks. The present theme will end Tuesday night, with some necessary clean up depending upon the results.What's next?--------------------------------------------Follow me on Twitter and Facebook...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 17, 2010 9 Comments

Since Coakley supporters appear willing to believe anything. (Even a parody by TheNoseOnYourFace shop.)[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsr0BP6Uk3c]--------------------------------------------Follow me on Twitter and Facebook...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 17, 2010 8 Comments

Yesterday, Blue Mass Group posted a misleadingly edited interview with Scott Brown in which Brown, when questioned, said he didn't know if Barack Obama's mother was married when Obama was born. That expression of lack of knowledge has led to full meltdown in the left-wing...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 17, 2010 11 Comments

If this is true, I may owe the NRSC an apology:In mid-December, the National Republican Senatorial Committee conducted a poll that showed Brown trailing by only 13 points, but it kept the results to itself. Coakley continued operating on the assumption that for all intents...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 17, 2010 15 Comments

The left-wing blogs have been so completely overrun in the Brown-Coakley campaign that they have resorted to making up a phony "birther" controversy in an attempt to gin up a controversy before Tuesday. Blue Mass Group has released a very tightly edited 15-second clip of Scott...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 16, 2010 22 Comments

I posted yesterday about a disgusting mailer used by the Massachusetts Democratic Party to allege that Scott Brown wants rape victims turned away from hospitals.As I explained, the allegation is false, twists out of all reality the legislation Brown proposed on the "morning after pill,"...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 16, 2010 12 Comments

Photos from Scott Brown events Saturday, January 16 (photos to be added throughout the day)Dennis, MA sign rallyBrown in Hyannis (much more here)Not from today, but worth posting, SEIU members for BrownBrown in Plymouth[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGKH7qjnF5w]Brown in Quincy (more here)(400 people in crowd)--------------------------------------------Follow me on Twitter and...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 16, 2010 14 Comments

Martha Coakley flopping gaffe of the day, as reported by the Boston Herald:Shipping giant UPS isn’t amused by a Democratic Party campaign pamphlet attacking Republican Senate candidate Scott Brown that plays off the company’s slogan “What can Brown do for you?”Atlanta-based United Parcel Service, known...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 16, 2010 4 Comments

In prior posts, I noted that Brown was winning, and then had won, the online war. The statistics reflecting Brown's online momentum also were the subject of a post recently at WordStream Internet Marketing Blog. In just the past two days, the numbers have become...

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