Professor Jacobsen teaches courses in Temple Law School’s nationally ranked Trial Advocacy Program, including Complex Civil Litigation, Advanced Civil Procedure II and a skills course in Interviewing, Counseling & Negotiation. In his other capacity, he is the Director of the Sports Law program at Temple Law School, teaching courses in amateur and professional Sports Law, International Sports Law and Advanced Sports Contract Negotiation and Drafting. He is the faculty advisor to the student-led Sports and Entertainment Law Society (SELS) and supervises Temple Law’s participation in sports contract negotiation tournaments and competitions at law schools nationally. He also selects and bestows the “Love for the City Award” on Philadelphians in the sports world who have demonstrated commitments to the city through their philanthropic and charitable activities. Past recipients have included former Philadelphia Eagles player Malcolm Jenkins and current University of South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley.
After several years as an Adjunct Professor, Mr. Jacobsen joined the faculty as a full time Practice Professor of Law in 2011.
For 30 years, he was in private practice, concentrating in complex business and commercial litigation, including class actions on behalf of investors, consumers and victims of environmental disasters.
Professor Jacobsen also is a businessman who co-owns successful businesses in the sports and entertainment industries. He was a founding partner of the Wilmington Blue Rocks, a single “A” minor league professional baseball club affiliated with the Washington Nationals who play in a 6,500 muti-purpose stadium adjacent to Interstate 95 in Wilmington, Delaware. He provides legal advisory and consulting services to professional athletes on sponsorship and endorsement deals, appearances and other marketing activities. He also has organized their charitable foundations and provided financial and other support to their non-profit organizations. Among his former clients are Phillies All Star Shane Victorino, former Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback Michael Vick, NBA basketball legend Julius “Dr. J” Erving and other notable professional athletes.
A sought-after guest speaker and prolific author of articles and commentary, Professor Jacobsen is a frequent lecturer and seminar participant on topics involving sports law, trial practice and procedure and complex commercial litigation. In May 2026, he delivered a lextio magistralis (Master Lecture) on comparative International Sports Law to students, faculty and lawyers at the Universita di Padova in Italy, which awarded him the Osella medal for his “foresight, global perspective and pursuit of justice through law.” A nationally recognized expert on “name, image and likeness” (NIL) in college sports, Professor Jacobsen has organized and served on NIL panels for the American Bar Association in Las Vegas in October 2025, the Philadelphia Bar Association in June 2025 and March 2022, IP Philadelphia in March 2026 and other symposia.
Drawing of his expertise in college athletics, Professor Jacobsen help organize and present the Temple Law Review Symposium “A House Divided: A Legal and Practical Discussion of the Changing Landscape of College Athletics” which featured elite panelist from across the country and drew a record attendance of 300 lawyers, educators and college administrators in person and online.
In 2026 and 2022, Professor Jacobsen taught summer semesters in International Sports Law to law students from multiple U.S. law schools at Temple’s campus in Rome, Italy. In 2015 and 2016, he was a Visiting Professor and Lecturer at the National Taiwan University College of Law, where he delivered keynote speeches in International Sports Law and taught classes on the subject. He also addressed committees of Taiwan’s National Congress (the legislative Yuan) on the regulation of professional sports and met with owners of professional baseball teams and representatives of the players’ union to compare organizational and governance structures with that of Major League Baseball in the United States.
Professor Jacobsen was a regular faculty member of the National institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) for its regional trial practice programs and was a featured panelist for CLE International at its annual conference in Chicago on consumer class actions. Other past programs include Mealey’s “Emerging Drug Conference—Litigation Issues” in New Orleans; ALI-ABA Course Seminar in Washington, D.C on the “Trial of a Securities Case;” the Villanova Law Review Symposium of “Sports Franchise Relocation;” the Penn Law School Symposium on gambling in sports; the Practicing Law Institute Program in New York on “False Advertising and Commercial Speech—Private Consumer Actions and Remedies;” and the American Bar Association program in Williamsburg, Virginia on “Troubled Partnerships—Some Litigation Issues.” Professor Jacobsen lectures annual to lawyers enrolled in Temple Law’s LLM Program in Trial Advocacy and has made presentations to its Board of Visitors at both its Philadelphia and Rome campuses on legal issues in amateur and professional sports.
More details about Professor Jacobsen’s background and experience can be found on his website at www.Jacobsenlaw-PA.com. More information about Temple’s Sports Law Program can be found here.