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

But Is It A Loan?

Earlier this week, California' Department of Financial Protection & Innovation announced that it had entered into memorandums [sic] of understanding with five earned wage access companies. If you haven't heard of a "earned wage access company" until...

Still No California Caremark?

Professor Stephen Bainbridge recently expressed the hope that Caremark liability will not become routine.  "Caremark" refers to Chancellor Allen's decision in In re Caremark Int'l. Deriv. Litig., 698 A.2d 959 (1996) in which he found that directors...

I Can't Explain The "Good Will" But California's Business & Professions Code Does

According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Immanuel Kant believed that "good will" is the only unqualified good thing.  The Encyclopedia explains that "In Kant’s terms, a good will is a will whose decisions are wholly determined by moral...

These Data Show That California Is Number 1 In Losing Corporate Headquarters

A just-published article by University of Texas Professor Jens C. Dammann takes an empirical look at public company relocation choices.  State Competition for Corporate Headquarters and Corporate Law: An Empirical Anaylsis, 80 Md. L. Rev. 214 (2021)....

Bill Proposes Term Limit On States Of Emergency

In June of last year, I addressed the question of when a gubernatorially state of emergency ends.  Government Code Section 8629 requires the Governor to proclaim a termination of a state of emergency "at the earliest possible date that conditions...

Once More Into The Breach - Or Should That Be Conflict?

A common contractual representation is that the execution and delivery of the agreement does not constitute a breach of one or more other agreements or charter documents. Sometimes, the representation is that the execution and delivery do not...

Senator Jones Introduces Bill To Provide Cures For Incurable Corporate Acts

Some corporate actions defy a cure. Other states, notably Delaware and Nevada, have taken action to provide cures for the incurable. Last year, the Corporations Committee of the Business Law Section of the California Lawyers Association sponsored a...

DFPI Rings In The New Year By Issuing A Dozen Subpoenas

Yesterday, the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation announced that it had issued "subpoenas to a dozen companies with significant California customer bases, representing the first major action to be taken under the expanded oversight...

What Type Of Crime Is Securities Fraud In California?

Section 25401 of the California Corporations Code, which was modeled on Section 12(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, provides: