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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 26, 2019 41 Comments
On Sunday morning, November 24, Walter Canon, son of Kemberlee Kaye and her husband Jeff, entered the world at 9 lbs. 8 oz. He joins his two big sisters, who have been anxiously awaiting his arrival. Walt was born with a congenital heart problem, and is being cared for by doctors and nurses at a Houston children's hospital.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 26, 2019 53 Comments
I'm not saying we're clairvoyant. I'm not saying we see things before others do. I'm not saying that by the time this is all over you are going to be asking us to pick lottery numbers for you. I'm not saying any of those things, though I will humble brag that as a kid I was pretty good at the Ouija board and Magic 8 Ball.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 26, 2019 18 Comments
The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked a subpoena issued by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform to Trump's accounting firm, pending a full appeal. So while the Stay is temporary, it likely will last several months until the appeal is decided. This is part of a full-scale assault by Democrat controlled entities at the federal and state level to obtain (and then leak, of course) Trump's personal financial and tax information. There is a related petition pending regarding a grand jury subpoena to the same accounting firm from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, which presents similar but distinct legal issues.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 25, 2019 21 Comments
For many years, on November 25 and also Memorial Day, we have remembered Johnny Micheal Spann, a CIA Operations Officer who was the first American killed in Afghanistan after 9/11. We have told Spann's story many times, but it never gets old. Our 15th Anniversary post summed up much of what we had learned, 15th Anniversary: Johnny “Mike” Spann, first American killed in Afghanistan.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 24, 2019 32 Comments
I was in Ithaca for a school event recently, and it didn't take much time so see an anti-Impeachment ad on TV. This ad directed at Anthony Brindisi (D-NY22) was all over the airwaves (not sure if it was Binghamton or Syracuse stations):

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 21, 2019 118 Comments
I am now going to give you the least surprising announcement in the history of unsurprising announcements:
"Breaking: Dems say enough evidence to move forward on impeachment. Vote likely by mid-December. They will not wait for courts to force additional witnesses"

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 18, 2019 50 Comments
You may have noticed I've been a little thin around here lately. It's been crunch time for me as the semester is nearing an end, and I've also had some personal matters to attend to.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 16, 2019 88 Comments
David Gibson, one of the owners of Gibson's Bakery and a named plaintiff in the lawsuit against Oberlin College, has passed away after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He passed away early this morning at home surrounded by his family. After the verdict, David said that he hoped that the bakery could keep the lights on for another generation.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 15, 2019 26 Comments
Elise Stefanik is from New York's 21st District. We're not talking Manhattan here, it's the north country, covering the Adirondack Mountains from the Vermont border to the east and the Canadian border to the north and west.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 12, 2019 11 Comments
A little over two years ago, on October 25, 2017, I gave a speech about free speech and hate speech at Vassar College. It was, as I have described many times, an 'out-of-body' experience because of false claims spread about me and my appearance by students, including student government. From my post, Safe Spaces and Safety Teams at Vassar College for My Lecture on Free Speech:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 09, 2019 39 Comments
September 17, 2014, changed my life forever. I gave a speech in Syracuse, NY, for the Jewish Federation of Central New York about the anti-Israel movement on campus. I can't find a video or audio of the appearance, but I remember one thing in particular.
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