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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 March 26, 2020 22 Comments
The magician pulls another rabbit out of his hat. The last we checked, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fell just short in his effort to build a ruling coalition after the third election in a year ended in stalemate again. Rival Benny Gantz' Blue and White coalition was given the nod to try to form a government, but as we reported, that was unlikely, Bye-Bye Bibi, hello Prime Minister Benny Gantz? (maybe, maybe not):

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 24, 2020 41 Comments
If you only listened to Democrat politicians and read the mainstream media and Twitter, you'd think that the nation was soundly against Trump's handling of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic. It is a vicious little bubble of malignant personalities and broken souls whose sole job is to damage Trump at all costs, even if it harms the nation and working people. We've covered these disgusting extortionists and liars many times in the past weeks:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 23, 2020 119 Comments
Nancy Pelosi, with a major assist from Elizabeth Warren and the capitulation of Chuck Schumer, scuttled Senate negotiations Sunday over a rescue bill to help people left unemployed and businesses at risk of collapse from a government-ordered economic shutdown in response to the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 22, 2020 27 Comments
Two weeks ago we noted that Democrats and the media were attacking Trump as racist for using the term "China virus." That was part of a wide effort not only to ban that term, but any term tying the coronovirus to China. That effort started from the moment Trump restricted travel from China. That decision, now recognized at buying the U.S. critical time, was called racist and xenophobic, including by Joe Biden:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 21, 2020 72 Comments
I went to Walmart early this morning, hoping to pick up a few things before the crowds arrived. The bad news is the shelves were really picked over, frighteningly so, and not just for food. The good news is the aisles were filled with wrapped pallets of food and assorted other things, with workers feverishly unpacking and shelving items. Seems I got there just a little too early.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 20, 2020 71 Comments
Donald Trump's daily press conferences on Wuhan coronavirus updates is must watch TV. Trump and various health and senior officials spend close to two hours providing detailed information, and then subject themselves to an hour or more of questions from reporters. It's spellbinding at times, with Trump clearly in command. It's what he loves, mixing it up with reporters. Sometimes that sparring makes news itself, but even without the drama from reporters, Trump shows himself in command.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 19, 2020 80 Comments
A reader sent me the image above, of Park Avenue in Manhattan just before 5 p.m. today. The height of 'rush hour.' This is a major avenue in the heart of our largest city, that in normal times would be jam-packed with cars, and taxis, and delivery trucks, and pedestrians. But it was all but deserted due to the government-ordered rolling shutdown of the economy to delay the spread of Wuhan coronavirus.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 16, 2020 70 Comments
My inbox has been flooded with messages from almost every company I've interacted with assuring me that they have a plan on how to deal with the Wuhan Coronavirus (none of them use that name, of course). The airlines, the banks, the hotels, the domain host, the lawyers, the accountants, ... even the furniture store, all have sent me messages of reassurance. They will be there for me, they are spread out in various locations with various back up systems, and they can log in from home.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 16, 2020 18 Comments
Last time we checked, the dysfunctional Israeli political system had just completed its third attempt in a year to elect a Prime Minister. Based on the exit polls, it appeared that Bibi Netanyahu would be the next Prime Minster, with his Likud Party and other religious and right-wing parties obtaining a majority.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 14, 2020 72 Comments
There are a small number of movies that had a profound impact on me as a child. Having grown up in the generation for whom nuclear war was the looming threat, many of those formative movies concerned the aftermath of nuclear war. I particularly remember Fail Safe and Dr. Strangelove.
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