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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 13, 2009 4 Comments

The first exhibits merely reflexive reaction to startling movement, the other establishes meaningful cognition at an early age by choosing to replicate a sound. Just saying.Please, no one tell the Feline Theocracy. It is very intolerant of dissent.http://d.yimg.com/static.video.yahoo.com/yep/YV_YEP.swf?ver=2.2.46(h/t to The Coffee Shop for the kitten,...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 13, 2009 2 Comments

Obama down 19 points in the Rasmussen strongly approve/strongly disapprove poll just released: H/t Moonbattery, which notes: The approval index stands at an astounding -28 among the independents who were temporarily duped into electing him.Obamunists did say that their messiah would unite us. At this...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 13, 2009 0 Comments

What it was about this comment which led me to suspect it was spam (so I didn't approve it, link disabled fyi):This is nice blog post, an excellent it very nice...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 13, 2009 29 Comments

Sarah Palin's appearance on the Conan O'Brien late night show generated huge positive buzz. Even (some of) the Palin haters were hard-pressed to come up with a negative about it.This marks something of a turning point for Palin. More so than daytime media, late night...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 12, 2009 2 Comments

This is the latest in a series on the use of the race card for political gain:Although I commented on this incident earlier, it warrants bringing out the videotape, for Harry Reid's now classic card play, in which Reid compared those who oppose his health...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 12, 2009 2 Comments

Barack Obama loves to try to blame George Bush for our deficits and out of control spending, as if Democratic control of Congress for the last several years, and Obama's control of the budget this year, had nothing to do with it. So how will...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 12, 2009 1 Comment

Here are some obligatory Sarah Palin morning posts, because while you were sleeping, Palin was inching closer to Barack Obama in the polls, driving the nutroots crazy, getting positive late-night coverage for a change (that should really scare the PDS crowd), and generally having fun:...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 11, 2009 18 Comments

The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and affiliated Susan G. Komen for the Cure spearhead efforts to raise funds for and awareness of breast cancer. Joe Lieberman's wife, Hadassah, has a compensated position as a "global ambassador."But Joe Lieberman doesn't tow the leftist line...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 11, 2009 0 Comments

Kathleen Parker, one of many swooning over Obama's Oslo speech, observes:Rising to the occasion, he managed to redeem himself at a low point in his popularity by reminding Americans of what is best about themselves. My cynical translation:Obama's drop in the polls has forced him...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 11, 2009 4 Comments

The Speech. In Oslo. Oh my. He didn't apologize, as such. He spoke of a "just war." Of his obligation as President to defend the country. As if this all were a revelation.Ooooh. Aaaah. Says the vast right-wing conspiracy, in many and surprising places.It's all...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 11, 2009 6 Comments

How often have we heard the left-wing blogs blather about the greatness of Medicare. How often do we hear how happy people are with Medicare, and how that proves that government run health plans should be extended to everyone.But there is a big, ugly lie...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 10, 2009 3 Comments

Harry Reid needs more than a weekend off. Perhaps we should, in the national interest, schedule a series of fundraisers for Reid running through the end of the year.I say this because scheduling a fundraiser for Reid appears to be the only way to get...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 10, 2009 7 Comments

Over the summer I repeatedly sounded the alarm about one particular aspect of the Democratic health care proposals, the mandate that individuals purchase insurance under threat of penalty or incarceration. At the time I noted the unprecedented nature of the mandate, in my post Taxing...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 09, 2009 2 Comments

The football games will run really, really late on Sunday, then I'll fall asleep for an hour, and it will all be over:Added:  Looks like an hour of sleep will not get me through the night:--------------------------------------------Follow me on Twitter and Facebook...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 09, 2009 7 Comments

No, not another Tiger Woods post. A "pick me up" as in lifting my spirits just a little as I read the headlines about Harry Reid desperately trying to talk his way into something, anything, Barack Obama can sign prior to the State of the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 09, 2009 9 Comments

The Telegraph in Britain has a story about a massive iceberg which broke off from the Antarctic ice cap and is heading for Australia. The iceberg is so large that if it hits the mainland it would cause a 3.0-4.0 tremor on the Richter scale....

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 09, 2009 3 Comments

Senator Orrin Hatch has written a Hanukkah song. The background is here. Thanks, Orrin.There's a lesson to be learned here, but unfortunately the Jewish community will not learn it because it is so deep in the pocket of the Democratic Party that it cannot see...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 09, 2009 7 Comments

No one gives Scott Brown, the Republican primary winner, much chance at defeating Martha Coakley, the Democratic nominee. It's Massachusetts, and it's to fill Ted Kennedy's seat.But keep an eye on Massachusetts. It's a special election, and turnout could be low as it was in...

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