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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 December 04, 2009 5 Comments

Yesterday, Thomson Reuters issued a press release regarding the results of a poll which it says showed that 60% of Americans support a "public option."Needless to say, this poll is being used by supporters of a government-run plan to pressure Congress. SEIU even used the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 04, 2009 5 Comments

Did you hear what she just said? And it was all recorded, so she cannot deny it.There she goes again. You know who I'm talking about, and what it was. The thought of her in Washington, D.C., when we have such serious issues to deal...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 03, 2009 6 Comments

Dave Ross is a commentator for the CBS Radio Network. You probably never heard of him, and neither had I until today. His voice, though, sounded really familiar.Ross apparently has a morning show in the Pacific Northwest, but comes on the air nationally for CBS...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 03, 2009 4 Comments

The Honduran Congress voted not to reinstate Manuel Zelaya pending the duly and recently elected President Porfirio Lobo taking office in January. That vote is consistent with the accord resolving the crisis.There's not a lot I can add to my prior posts, and these commentaries...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 03, 2009 3 Comments

Not by me. A comparison between Barack Obama and former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev is suggested by a blogger at Crooks and Liars, using this graphic to attack Obama's decision to increase U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan.The Soviets invaded Afghanistan to help prop up a...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 02, 2009 4 Comments

Congratulations Senior Citizens. Your self-appointed advocate, AARP, has intervened again in favor of Democratic health care restructuring proposals:As the Senate prepares to vote on a controversial Medicare funding amendment to the $848 billion health care bill, the seniors lobby has weighed in with a letter...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 02, 2009 4 Comments

Via the TaxProf, GOP Introduces Geithner Penalty Waiver Act:Congressmen John Carter (R-TX) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) yesterday introduced the Geithner Penalty Waiver Act, requiring that the IRS assess the same penalty against U.S. taxpayers that came forward in the UBS tax fraud investigation as paid...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 02, 2009 6 Comments

From Mr. Privacy:I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 02, 2009 4 Comments

Some more thoughts on the Obama Afghanistan speech, the morning after.I understood why Obama wanted to go to West Point to give the speech. It would show that he had the courage to give the speech directly to soldiers whose lives would be on the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 01, 2009 11 Comments

"A camel is a horse designed by a committee." That's the feeling I had listening to Obama's speech tonight about his military designs for Afghanistan.The speech followed pre-speech reports of Obama's plan. There were no substantive surprises, but Obama seemed truly moved by the decision...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 01, 2009 10 Comments

Maurice Hinchey is the Congressman whose district includes Ithaca, NY, where I live during the school year. Hinchey is as "out there" as they come.Hinchey led an effort to impeach George W. Bush in the Summer of 2008, when Bush was just a few months...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 01, 2009 11 Comments

Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs says he's parting ways with the right because people who disagree with him are fascist, racist, homophobic, white supremacists. And he names names.In fact, this is just another attention getting ploy to get back at people who have criticized...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 01, 2009 2 Comments

Let's review the past two days.On Sunday, the Democratic health care restructuring proponents were trumpeting a report by an MIT economist claiming, based on a prior CBO scoring of Harry Reid's bill, that private premiums in the non-group market would drop $200-$500. The White House,...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 30, 2009 6 Comments

Hondurans voted yesterday, and it appears that a rival of Manuel Zelaya has won. For those of you who regularly read this blog, you know of the struggle of Honduras not only against Zelaya and his primary backer, Hugo Chavez, but also against the Obama...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 30, 2009 1 Comment

Best line of the weekend. Bill Kristol on Fox News Sunday, asked whether the White House party crashers should be prosecuted:Yes, we should put them on trial in New York in a courtroom right next to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed(My transcription from memory, until I can...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 30, 2009 7 Comments

Another day, another exposé by a British newspaper about the failure of nationalized health care. This time, it's the left-wing The Guardian reflecting on how delays in cancer care cause 10,000 unnecessary deaths each year compared to other European countries:Up to 10,000 people die needlessly...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 29, 2009 4 Comments

The list of potential GOP presidential candidates just narrowed. If reports are accurate, a convict to whom Mike Huckabee granted clemency is sought in the killing of four Seattle policemen.This is Huck's Willie Horton. Sure, there are differences. Horton committed rape while on weekend furlough...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 29, 2009 7 Comments

I want to believe Tiger Woods' statement that the rumors about his wife attacking him are false. Refusing to speak with the police, however, is not a good sign.One issue keeps popping back into my mind on this. Tiger's wife reportedly helped extricate him from...

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