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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.

Barack Obama is about to propose a massive, trillion dollar stimulus package, the centerpiece of which is infrastructure projects. Large-scale infrastructure projects have a long history of cost-overruns, mob-influence through corrupt unions, and are not effective at long-term job creation.But that is not the worst...

It has just been announced that Senate lawyers have agreed that Roland Burris' paperwork is in order, and he should be seated. If you followed the commentary on my post The Burris-Murkowski Double Standard, you would have seen this coming. There is no way that...

Harry Reid and Dick Durbin have been adamant that they will not seat Roland Burris unless Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White signs a certificate in the form recommended in Senate Rule 2. Durbin was particularly emphatic that no appointee, ever, has been seated...

This just in:First, the bad news - Islamic Jihad has seized the hot dogs of invading Zionist-entity soldiers.Next, the good news - The hot dog wrappers were empty.Then, the really good news -"Meanwhile, the IDF has boasted somewhat more impressive achievements Saturday. The army said...

Yesterday I posted Support Sanjay Gupta Since Michael Moore Hates Him. A nice, tight little piece joking how the mere fact that Michael Moore hates Sanjay Gupta is enough for me to support Gupta for Surgeon General. A little tongue-in-cheek humor trying to make a...

Note: See Related Posts Harry Reid Is Wrong -- There Has Been A Senate Appointment Without A Secretary Of State Certification and The Burris-Murkowski Double Standard.------------------------------------------Harry Reid, U.S. Senate Majority Leader, needlessly has created a potential constitutional crisis over the seating of Roland Burris,...

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz is reporting that the U.S. has arranged for a charter ship "to carry 325 standard 20-foot containers of what is listed as 'ammunition' on two separate journeys from the Greek port of Astakos to the Israeli port of Ashdod in mid-to-late...

Harry Reid refuses to give in to the U.S. Constitution. With each passing day, Reid has been embarrassing himself more and more. The decision of the Illinois Supreme Court ruling that Roland Burris is the lawful appointee of Gov. Rod Blagojevich makes clear that...

In a previous post, I discussed the lawsuit filed by Roland Burris in the Illinois Supreme Court seeking to compel Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White to sign and certify the Certificate of Appointment issued by Gov. Rod Blagojevich. White has responded to Burris' lawsuit,...

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend."Opposition appears to be growing to Barack Obama's intention to nominate Sanjay Gupta for Surgeon General. The opposition is among Democrats who want to push single-payer (i.e., nationalized) healthcare. This opposition apparently stems from a confrontation Gupta had...

My home state of Rhode Island has been asleep at the wheel when it comes to grabing proposed federal instrastructure stimulus dollars. Although it has been known for weeks if not months that Barack Obama was ready to throw hundreds of billions of dollars at...

In a guest column in The Providence Journal, Susanne Garrison Hoder of Tiverton, Rhode Island, "founder of the Interfaith Peace Initiative," compares Israel to Auschwitz prison guards:"The new movie The Reader is a powerful drama about a young man who discovers that a woman from...

Legally, the Illinois Supreme Court should rule that Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White is required to sign and affix the state seal to the Certificate of Appointment issued by Gov. Rod Blagojevich appointing Roland Burris to Barack Obama's open Senate seat. But emotionally and...

On December 31, 2008, Roland Burris filed suit in the Illinois Supreme Court seeking an order compelling Secretary of State Jesse White to sign and affix the state seal to the Certificate of Appointment (see Exhibit A to Burris' Complaint) signed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich...

Harry Reid just held a news conference in which he continued to refuse to seat Roland Burris. Reid's justifications are transparent and unjustifiable. Reid claims he is waiting for the Illinois Supreme Court to force Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White to sign the certification...