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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 May 25, 2009 5 Comments

In an earlier post, I noted how one Huffington Post blogger, Allison Kilkenny, had called John Bolton "crazy" just five days ago for warning that North Korea was on the verge of another nuclear test. I wondered whether there would be an apology in light...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 25, 2009 48 Comments

On May 20, 2009, John Bolton wrote an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal titled "Get Ready for Another North Korean Nuke Test" in which he noted that the complacency of the Obama administration about North Korea's nuclear ambitions (and Iran's) was misplaced:"The curtain is...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 24, 2009 2 Comments

When the NY Times takes Obama to task, I am always a little suspicious. Will this be a "he's not perfect, but at least he's not Bush" type of critique; a compliment disguised as a criticism.So I don't know what to make of this piece...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 24, 2009 0 Comments

Gateway Pundit has a good update on the murder of Ilan Halimi:Ilan was lured to his death by a woman he had met in his telephone store. They met up late on the night of January 20, 2006, in one of Paris's southern suburbs, Bagneux....

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 23, 2009 11 Comments

The latest internet outrage-bubble started with a post at Politico titled RNC's below-the-belt shot at Nancy Pelosi, regarding a Republican National Committee YouTube video about Nancy Pelosi. I agree with AllahPundit that the RNC should not have produced the video, among other reasons, because "they...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 23, 2009 2 Comments

In response to those who want Dick Cheney to "shut the hell up," a group in favor of "telling Dick Cheney to keep talking."--------------------------------------------Follow me on Twitter and Facebook...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 22, 2009 9 Comments

Put aside the merits of the two speeches by Barack Obama and Dick Cheney. What is interesting is the timing. I think Toby Harnden has an interesting observation:But the very fact that Obama chose to schedule his speech (Cheney's was announced first) at exactly the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 21, 2009 4 Comments

Obama is giving his speech now on the issue of terrorist detention policy and the closing of Gitmo. I'll leave it to others to parse all aspects of the speech, although it is clear that the overriding theme is: "It's not my fault, blame Bush."...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 20, 2009 6 Comments

Harry Reid made the following statement yesterday regarding the Democrats' flip-flop on closing the prison at Guantanomo Bay, and bringing the detainees to prisons in the United States. Reid rejected the idea, stating:"Can't put them in prison unless you release them."The internal inconsistency of the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 20, 2009 10 Comments

We are in the process of nationalizing and/or federalizing vast stretches of our economy, including the auto industry, banks, and health care. Individual property rights have taken a back seat to political priorities.I am against this trampling of individual property rights, which are the foundation...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 20, 2009 2 Comments

The controversy over Nancy Pelosi's accusation that the CIA repeatedly misled her and Congress as to detainee interrogation has taken a new turn: Word games.What Pelosi knew, when she knew it, and what she did in reaction, rightly has become a center of attention because...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 19, 2009 5 Comments

A Pakistani newspaper, The Nation, published a story claiming that former Vice President Dick Cheney ran an assassination squad which killed, among others, Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan:Former prime minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on the orders of the special death squad formed by...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 18, 2009 7 Comments

My article, Nancy Pelosi Is The Central Issue, appears today at American Thinker:Nancy Pelosi recently accused the CIA of misleading Congress as to interrogation techniques employed against three al-Qaeda leaders. The CIA pushed back, claiming that Pelosi was given truthful details at briefings at least...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 17, 2009 1 Comment

My comments appear at 0.30 of the video, here.(I have removed the embedded CBS video since it apparently had an auto-run feature which understandably annoyed some viewers; if I can figure out how to get rid of the auto-run, I'll repost it)--------------------------------------------Follow me on Twitter...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 16, 2009 15 Comments

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has denied being briefed in September 2002 about the waterboarding of Abu Zubaydah. Pelosi claims she was told that the technique had not been used (when in fact it had been used a month earlier). Pelosi uses this September...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 15, 2009 8 Comments

Two heartbeats away from President Barack Obama, in the line of succession, sits the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.Two heartbeats away from the Presidency sits someone who has alleged that the Central Intelligence Agency repeatedly misled Congress as to the interrogation of...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 15, 2009 8 Comments

Obama knows that there is no way to pay for universal health care insurance coverage. He also knows that there is no way to borrow enough money for such coverage. The well is running dry on the national credit card.The solution: Cut health care costs...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 14, 2009 3 Comments

As my loyal readers know, I long have been a fan of the Google Ads algorithm. The ad on this blog for Big Beautiful Women continues to generate an amazing number of hits, usually from a google search by someone seeking a big beautiful woman....

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