William A Jacobson

Education

Jacobson is a 1981 graduate of Hamilton College and a 1984 graduate of Harvard Law School. During his time at Harvard, Jacobson served as Senior Editor of the Harvard International Law Journal and as Director of Litigation for the Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Project.

Early Career

Before 2007, Jacobson was a litigator in Providence, Rhode Island, with a successful civil litigation and arbitration practice. His work was focused around investment, employment, and business disputes in the securities industry.

Cornell Law School

In 2007, Jacobson joined Cornell Law School as a Clinical Professor of Law. He is also the Director of the Securities Law Clinic.

Legal Insurrection

Jacobson is author of the conservative law blog, Legal Insurrection, which was founded in 2008. As of January 2011, Legal Insurrection was ranked number 24 in politics and number 67 overall by Technorati and number 7 for top legal blogs by Avvo. His writing on Legal Insurrection has been referenced by The Atlantic Wire, The National Review, The Hill, New York Magazine's "Daily Intel", The Christian Science Monitor, The Boston Herald, Rush Limbaugh, The New York Times, Gothamist, CBS News, The Wall Street Journal, Investor's Business Daily, The Washington Times, AOL News, The Week, and others.

Jacobson is also a conservative pundit. He has provided commentary on legal and political issues in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Fox News, CBS Evening News, The Washington Times, The Providence Journal and Newsday, among others. He is also a contributor to Politico's "Arena".

Elizabeth Warren

During Senator Elizabeth Warren's 2012 U.S. Senate campaign against Republican Scott Brown, Jacobson was cited by Massachusetts and national news outlets, namely for his critique of Warren's claim that she was 1/32nd Cherokee Indian and her decision to claim minority status as a law professor during the 1980's and 1990's. Specifically, Jacobson carried out in-depth research into Warren's claims about her "high cheekbones" and family tensions, both allegedly a result of her Cherokee heritage. After concluding his research, he found no evidence to substantiate these claims.

Jacobson is also credited with raising the issue of whether Warren was actually licensed to practice law in Massachusetts, where she lived and practiced law. After extensive research on the subject, and following the Warren campaign's refusal to release a full list of her caseload, he concluded that she never obtained the right to practice law there.

Israel and Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS)

Jacobson has taken an active role in recent years exposing and fighting back against the academic boycott of Israel in higher education. He has participated in numerous speaking engagements on the matter, most notably events at Harvard Law School (hosted by Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) in association with Alliance for Israel), Cornell University (sponsored by Cornellians For Israel), Children of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, Vassar College (a Vassar Conservative Libertarian Union event), and the Florida Region of CAMERA.

When pro-Palestine activist Bassem Tamimi spoke to third graders at an elementary school in Ithaca, NY in 2015, Jacobson covered the event on his blog, thereafter bringing the story into the national limelight. Jacobson filed a Freedom of Information Law request with the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) to further investigate the circumstances surrounding the speaking event. After a year-long court battle with the ICSD demanding that the ICSD remove extensive redactions in the documents provided, a judge sided with Jacobson, after which the ICSD was ordered to release the video of the event. That video included one of the speakers saying to the children, "You can defend us, you can be freedom fighters for Palestine, you can bring peace;" a child is also heard saying, "When I grow up, I’m going to go to Palestine and protest."

David Gregory

After NBC's Meet the Press anchor David Gregory displayed a 30-round gun ammunition magazine during a show in 2012, Jacobson filed a Freedom of Information Act request in the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department to obtain records on the matter. Despite no criminal charges being brought against Gregory, a police affidavit was released revealing that the police department had warned NBC that possession of the magazine was illegal, making the case in support of an arrest warrant for Gregory. Jacobson was thereafter cited for his report exposing the hypocrisy of D.C.'s decisions to prosecute lesser-known people who, like Gregory, lacked criminal intent.

YouTube Controversy

On January 13, 2017, Jacobson's YouTube channel was taken down, with YouTube citing copyright violations. However, Jacobson has stated that he was targeted for his conservative political views. The channel was restored on January 15, 2017.

Publications, contributions, and citations

Awards