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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 03, 2010 2 Comments

"If we still cannot connect the dots on al-Qaeda bomb plots, why are we having the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other 9/11 plotters in densely populated downtown Manhattan?"--------------------------------------------Related Posts:Scalia Was Right About Releasing Gitmo DetaineesSchumer Right Before He Was WrongKSM Trial is Another...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 03, 2010 6 Comments

There is a push to get PPP, Rasmussen, or some other organization to do a poll of the special election in Massachusetts. At first glance, this seemed like a good idea. But on second glance, this comment at National Review makes sense:The last thing we...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 03, 2010 1 Comment

Headline yesterday: Yemen’s Chaos Aids the Evolution of a Qaeda CellHeadline this morning: US, UK close Yemen embassies over al-Qaida threatsHeadline this morning: Brennan: Some Guantanamo detainees will go to YemenHeadline six months from now when another detainee released to Yemen tries to blow up...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 03, 2010 1 Comment

As we near the January 19 special election in Massachusetts, we can expect an increasing flurry of endorsements. While it is no surprise that John McCain today endorsed Scott Brown, the reasoning set forth in McCain's video announcement is compelling:[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcCuUYRxSnI]--------------------------------------------Follow me on Twitter and...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 03, 2010 2 Comments

Martha Coakley refuses to debate Scott Brown one-on-one. Coakley is the front-runner with better name recognition, so she has much to lose from debating Brown one-on-one. But Coakley has even more to lose from not having the courage to take on Brown.Put together with negative...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 02, 2010 11 Comments

Unlike the plurality of Democrats who as recently as 2007 believed George W. Bush knew of the 9/11 attacks in advance, there is no traction among conservatives for the theory that Barack Obama or his administration had actual knowledge of the Undie-bomber plot beforehand.But the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 02, 2010 1 Comment

This is the latest in the Saturday Night Card Game series on the use of the race card for political gain:Tonight a slight twist on the use of the race card.Two people, one white and one black, ran a test of HP face tracking software,...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 02, 2010 3 Comments

My, how the tables have turned.It used to be that the Obama administration gave Iran deadlines on reaching agreement on nuclear fuel reprocessing. The most recent deadline was December 31.None of those deadlines meant anything, as the Iranians figured out long ago.That's the problem with...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 02, 2010 11 Comments

Martha Coakley just returned from six days on vacation in the middle of a special election. Ever since the December 8 primary, Coakley has attempted to portray an air of inevitability, by seeming not to care about Scott Brown's candidacy, refusing to debate him one-on-one,...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 01, 2010 5 Comments

As I posted earlier, the key elements in "green" technology are rare metals mined mostly in China. The green economy envisioned by the Obama administration as the means by which we will grow "green jobs" and lessen our dependence on foreign oil in fact simply...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 01, 2010 2 Comments

Despite the worst wishes of some, and helped along by the good wishes and prayers of tens of millions, we now can shout "You Live!"[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaIq5QeI0EY](h/t Gateway Pundit)--------------------------------------------Related Posts:They Shouted "You Die!"Thanks for the Old and New YearsFollow me on Twitter and Facebook...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 01, 2010 1 Comment

As a follow up to my post the other day, Martha Coakley's Secret Bank Account, here is a good description of how Coakley maneuvered around campaign finance laws, as reported in Boston Magazine:A candidate can't use state funds for a federal campaign, but that's exactly...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 01, 2010 5 Comments

Martha Coakley's campaign is touting the fact that it has raised $5.2 million so far, almost four times as much as Scott Brown, including $1 million in the past six weeks (compared to $700k for Brown).Coakley, however, spent heavily in the primary, and started the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 31, 2009 6 Comments

This will be my last post of the year, barring some high-profile conservative taking ill and being rushed to the hospital in which Barack Obama was not born just before he was born in that other hospital in the state where Rush Limbaugh is resting...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 31, 2009 2 Comments

As you get ready to go out tonight, to settle down at home for the evening, or whatever you are doing to ring in the New Year, remember that the next 30 days may decide the fate of this country's health care system and financial...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 31, 2009 6 Comments

I'm generally staying away from "Best" and "Worst" posts, despite the gravitational pull on this date, but this one really, really needs to be remembered:(h/t Donald Douglas for the screen shot)Update: Throw A Snowball At Washington--------------------------------------------Related Posts:About That "Firecracker"Not So Scary Terror?Terrorist Attacks Plane, Think...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 31, 2009 8 Comments

This is my obligatory post regarding left-wing reaction to Rush Limbaugh being rushed to the hospital late last night in Hawaii (U.S. mainland time), and initial reports that he was in serious condition.By the time we woke this morning, the word was that Rush had...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 31, 2009 2 Comments

Following up on my post about how Martha Coakley just handed out $1.5 million in grants to community organizations conveniently just a month before the special election, here is another fact showing that Martha Coakley is just more of the same for the Senate.Coakley set...

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