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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 20, 2020 48 Comments
Mike Bloomberg had a terrible night at the Las Vegas debate. On that point, I'm in agreement with the conventional wisdom. I'm not in agreement that he is done as a candidate, assuming he's still willing to spend an additional half-billion dollars on advertising, paying social media 'influencers' to hype him, and buying up Democrat policitians and media.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 16, 2020 16 Comments
Rasmea Odeh is a terrorist who not only was convicted of killing two Israeli students, she lied to get into the U.S. and become a U.S. citizen. Odeh was convicted of immigration fraud and deported in September 2017. Now she's making a comeback on campuses, glorified by groups like Students for Justice in Palestine, and just recently at UC-Berkeley, where anti-Israel activists ripped up a photo of her victims.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 15, 2020 34 Comments
All has been quiet lately on the Gibson's Bakery v. Oberlin College front. The case is on appeal, with a short remand to the trial court to memorialize certain oral trial rulings so that the record is complete for appeal. As we documented previously, there is ancillary litigation in the trial court by certain Cleveland media interests seeking to unseal confidential Facebook records of Allyn D. Gibson, the bakery clerk who stopped the Oberlin College student from shoplifting. That turned into a scuffle, arrests of three students, and the protests, boycotts, lawsuit, and jury trial.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 10, 2020 31 Comments
I'm back from California. In less than 72 hours on the ground, I packed in three important events, including a talk on campus free speech and culture for the Cornell and Harvard Clubs in Orange County, a panel appearance about anti-Israel activism on campuses at the national conference of Alums for Campus Fairness, and our Legal Insurrection Reader Reception.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 05, 2020 105 Comments
Surprisingly, I'm not angry at Mitt Romney for his vote to convict Donald Trump for abuse of power and to remove him from office. I disagree with it, strongly, but anger isn't my emotion. "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me" is more my emotion. Disgust is more my emotion. Romney has disappointed so many times, I'm numb to him.
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