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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 February 19, 2009 0 Comments

A centerpiece of Barack Obama's foreign policy is convincing Europeans, particularly NATO members, to help with the effort in Afghanistan. George Bush, it was said, too long had practiced the politics of "go it alone." We were assured that once we asked nicely, instead of...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 19, 2009 0 Comments

The headline of an Op-ed on the website of The Guardian newspaper, the left-wing British newspaper, started out promisingly enough: "Hamas No, Human Rights Yes." The sub-title was even better: "Why are the left and the anti-war movement ignoring Hamas's repression of...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 18, 2009 0 Comments

Roland Burris has offered changing accounts of his communications with emissaries of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich in the weeks leading up to Blagojevich's appointment of Burris to Barack Obama's open Senate seat. These changing accounts, including an updated Affidavit filed by Burris with the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 17, 2009 4 Comments

"This is the worst economy since the Great Depression!" How many times have we heard that phrase in the past six months? Put aside that by almost every measure (particularly the unemployment rate) that statement is outright false. Nonetheless, that argument is used to justify...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 17, 2009 0 Comments

Caroline Glick, who writes for the Jerusalem Post, is the most astute observer of the looming Iranian menace, and the pathetic refusal of governments in Israel, Europe, and the U.S. to address the problem. Visit her website. I love Glick's description of her background, which...

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

In this AP photo, taken during President Obama's signing ceremony for the stimulus bill, Obama pointed out the direction the country is heading:...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 17, 2009 3 Comments

The deer population in greater Ithaca, NY, is substantial. The tony Village of Cayuga Heights, adjacent to the Cornell campus and where many Cornell professors live, has a particular deer problem, and has been exploring ways of reducing the deer population. Because Cayuga Heights is...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 16, 2009 1 Comment

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnT21hmlT4o]Video, CD, and Lyrics by Michael AdamsHere's the chorus:I want my bailout moneySweet green cash just dripping with honeyGotta keep this economy runningI need another hit of my bailout money...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 16, 2009 0 Comments

The Endive website has obtained a copy of a page from the stimulus plan in which Democrats in Congress hand wrote changes (photo). Dummies. They forgot to include bread. You just can't trust Congress to do anything right....

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 15, 2009 1 Comment

The Stimulus Plan already has created jobs -- for people hawking get rich quick schemes, sorry I mean, providing shady advice for a fee on how to grab your piece of the stimulus pig-fest crap sandwich, sorry again, I mean providing professional advice on how...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 15, 2009 2 Comments

Barney Frank has been on a rant over bonuses paid to bank executives. Frank asked one executive: "What is it you'd do differently if you didn't get a bonus?"Bank executives are easy targets given the current economic climate. But don't think Frank and others like...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 14, 2009 0 Comments

The New York Times is running a profile story on Eric Cantor, Republican congressman from Virginia, and House Minority Whip. By NY Times standards, this is a fairly soft piece; certainly not the hit job the Times has run on other Republicans. Nonetheless, the story...

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

The day before the presidential election, when Barack Obama's victory seemed all but certain, I predicted that I would be able to say "I told you so" about what lay ahead:When this bubble bursts, I will be able to say "I told you so." Unfortunately,...

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

Democratic Senator Predicts None of His Colleagues 'Will Have the Chance' to Read Final Stimulus Bill Before VoteEt tu, Senators Collins, Snowe and Specter?...

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

Good news. Israel opens the border crossing with Gaza -- in between missile attacks from Hamas -- to allow the export of tens of thousands of carnations. Wait a second, I thought Gaza was a wasteland on the verge of humanitarian catastrophe (along with the...

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

Not that McCain, The Other McCain, as witnessed by this post:[Andrew Sargus] Klein gives us a splendid insight into the central conceit of the liberal mind: Nothing exists -- or has existed, or ever will exist -- unless it's funded with federal taxpayer dollars. Therefore,...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 13, 2009 3 Comments

The withdrawal of Judd Gregg as nominee for Commerce Secretary has revealed, once again, the nasty side of Barack Obama.At his news conference, Gregg went out of his way not to criticize Obama, simply explaining that he could not give "110%" in service to Obama,...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 12, 2009 0 Comments

Hardly anyone reads Time magazine anymore. I say "anymore" for those people under the age of 40, who are too young to remember a day when Time represented the gold-standard of weekly news publications. If it weren't for an occasional visit to a doctor's waiting...

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