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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 November 22, 2008 0 Comments

In a November 21, 2008 column, NY Times columnist David Brooks made the following statement:"Obama seems to have dispensed with the romantic and failed notion that you need inexperienced “fresh faces” to change things. After all, it was L.B.J. who passed the Civil Rights Act....

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 22, 2008 0 Comments

"A Sarah Palin Thanksgiving"I thought this story was a joke, when I saw it posted on the Internet, but it is true. The NY Times Editorial Board has posted a blog entry criticising Sarah Palin for conducting a videotaped television interview against the backdrop of...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 20, 2008 0 Comments

Pre-Election prediction by one of our nation's most insightful commentators foresaw the devastating effects of an Obama victory, but no one listened:"The stock market will not rebound unless and until it is clear that we have a president-elect who believes in the markets. Someone who...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 20, 2008 0 Comments

This headline from my hometown paper, The Providence Journal, says everything you need to know about why Rhode Island has the highest unemployment rate in the nation:"Assembly Considers Making R.I. Attractive To Business"An overwhelming government budget fed by high taxes, a Democratic state legislature beholden...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 19, 2008 0 Comments

See my article, A Place Where Only Liberal Speech is Protected, at American Thinker. Thanks to Openmarket for the feature, as well.Watch the video of the Ithaca Common Council debate over the "Community of Sanctuary" resolution, is here....

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 18, 2008 1 Comment

Great article about the sufferings of Single Young Males:Adding to the bitterness of many SYMs is the feeling that the entire culture is a you-go-girl cheering section. When our guy was a boy, the media prattled on about “girl power,” parents took their daughters to...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 17, 2008 0 Comments

Obama has named Gregory B. Craig, Bill Clinton's former lawyer from the impeachment hearings, as White House General Counsel. Craig also succeeded in taking Elion Gonzalez back to Cuba, and represented Kofi Annan in the UN Oil-for-Food scandal.The Obama administration is looking more and...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 17, 2008 0 Comments

An Op-Ed in today's Wall Street Journal argues that Chapter 11 bankruptcy is a better alternative to endless bailouts. UPDATE: Here is another view, arguing that Chapter 11 would be a "death knell" for the US auto industry. UPDATE No. 2: Another article arguing in...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 17, 2008 0 Comments

Interesting article at American Thinker makes the point that opponents of conservative talk radio do not need the Fairness Doctrine, which Obama has asserted he does not support. Instead, the likely vehicle for restricting conservative talk radio will be the "localism" doctrine, which Obama openly...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 16, 2008 0 Comments

History tells us, however, that economic redistribution plans fail because the producers of society would rather not produce, than have the fruits of their production taken away and given to others. Obama can raise the tax rates on income, but he cannot force people to...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 15, 2008 0 Comments

Michael Steele, the possible new Chairman of the Republican National Committee, has some common sense thoughts about the country, the election, and the future. The audio is here....

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 14, 2008 5 Comments

As reported in many blogs in August 2008, the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) came under intense pressure to move its annual convention, scheduled to start January 6, 2009, away from a hotel owned by a contributor to the pro-Proposition 8 campaign in California....

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 13, 2008 0 Comments

"In jest there is truth"[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3_95F5e-Ac]...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 13, 2008 0 Comments

Think a change of administration only matters if the incoming President can pass legislation? Here is a list of Justice Department jobs from the "Plum Book" which are filled at the discretion of the President. While legislation is important, these positions and hundreds more, will...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 11, 2008 2 Comments

The widely reported news that Sarah Palin didn't know Africa was a continent has been revealed to be a hoax. The news "source" supposedly inside the McCain campaign was an impostor, who even created a phony research institute to give legitimacy to his claims, and...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 11, 2008 0 Comments

Conservatives face a choice. Yield to "progressive" policies which, once implemented will take a generation to undo, or stand on principles of free enterprise, individual liberty, and capitalism? Giving in is much easier, but in the long run more costly. We can learn a lot...

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