Keith Paul Bishop

Keith Paul Bishop

Keith Bishop works with privately-held and publicly-traded companies on federal and state corporate and securities transactions, compliance, and governance matters. He is highly-regarded for his in-depth knowledge of the distinctive corporate and regulatory requirements faced by corporations in the state of California. While many law firms have a great deal of expertise in federal or Delaware corporate law, Keith’s specific focus on California corporate and securities law is uncommon. A former California state regulator of securities and financial institutions, Keith has decades of experience navigating the regulatory-intensive state’s rules. For companies with substantial operations in California but incorporated elsewhere, Keith is an exceptional resource. He is frequently called in to help with issues arising under California’s “blue sky” and lender laws. An avid writer, Keith’s blog, www.calcorporatelaw.com, covers a diverse collection of California corporate and securities law issues and has served as a valued resource for other attorneys, business executives, judges, and media, nationwide.

Recent Posts

Don't Bank On Using "Bank" In A URL

About eight years ago, I wrote about Section 201(a) of the California Corporations Code which prohibits the Secretary of State from filing articles of incorporation setting forth a name in which “bank,” “ trust,” “trustee,” or related words appear,...

May A Board Give All The Corporate Assets To Charity?

Yesterday, I listened to a talk by Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery entitled "Purpose, Power, and Fiduciary Duty: Dimensions of Delaware's Corporate Law Regime". The webinar was presented by the University of...

Who Exactly Is Soliciting Proxies?

On Monday, John Jenkins at Deallawyers.com wrote about a recent Delaware Court of Chancery decision finding that as alleged, "the Director Defendants’ decisions to delegate the Proxy to the Conflicted Officer Defendants and forego reviewing it...

Schrödinger's Cat And Merging Into A Foreign Corporation

When a California corporation merges into a foreign corporation, the merger becomes effective in accordance with the law of the jurisdiction in which the surviving corporation is organized. In California, the merger will be effective as to the...

How To Resuscitate A Moribund Corporation

Sometimes a corporation will for one reason or another fall into desuetude, with all of the directors and officers having resigned or died. If the corporation has not dissolved and wound up, the shareholders remain shareholders as there is no...

Does A Plaintiff In A Derivative Action Have A Protectable Interest?

When allegations of corporate misfeasance surface at public companies, derivative actions are sure to follow. Often, actions will be filed in both state and federal court. This is what happened when "sexual misconduct" claims were made made public...

Court Of Appeal Holds Governor Can Make Laws In An Emergency

The passage of the Lex Titia in 43 B.C.E. effectively legalized the end of the Roman Republic.  The law was passed in the crisis arising from the assassination the year before of Gaius Julius Caesar.  The Lex Titia bestowed on three men (the triumviri...

California Banks And Limitations On Distributions To Shareholders

Chapter 5 of the California Corporations Code imposes specific limitations on distributions to shareholders. Because California chartered banks are formed under the California General Corporation Law, one would expect that Chapter 5 applies to...

Committee Authority To Authorize Share Repurchases

Section 311 of the California Corporations Code authorizes the creation of one or more committees. Unlike Delaware, a committee of the board must have two or more members. The board of directors may vest all of the authority of the board in a...