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

You Might Be Surprised Who Is Authorized To Call A Meeting Of Your Board of Directors

Section 307(a)(1) of the California Corporations Code is quite specific in identifying who is empowered to call meetings of a corporation's board of directors: the chairperson of the board, the president, any vice president, the secretary, or any...

Why Do You "Fax" Rather Than "Facs" A Document?

"Good idea the Latin.  Stupifies them first."

Are Supermajority Board Voting Bylaws Effective?

Section 204 of the California Corporations Code lists a number of possible provisions that may be included in the articles and "which shall not be effective unless expressly provided in the articles". Included in this list of permissible provisions...

The Ineluctably Absent Modality Of Creditor Derivative Claims

On Monday, I wrote about Berg & Berg Enterprises, LLC v. Boyle, 178 Cal. App. 4th 1020, 100 Cal. Rptr. 3d 875 (2009).  The Court of Appeal in Berg adopted the trust fund doctrine, holding that upon the actual insolvency of the corporations,...

Chametz And The California UCC

Nissan Is Both A Car Maker And A Month

Who Knew? The California General Corporation Law Governs Contracting And Conveyancing By Foreign Corporations

Section 208 of the California Corporations Code makes it difficult for a California corporation to wriggle out of contracts or conveyances made in the corporation's name. Under the statute, a contract or conveyance will bind the corporation (and the...

Directorial Duties To Creditors - Getting To The Bottom Of The California Trust Fund Theory

A week ago today, Kevin LaCroix wrote about the potential liability of directors of financially stressed companies.  Kevin's piece focused on Delaware law and makes no mention of the state of the law here in California.

Close Corporation Or Simply A Closely Held Corporation?

A corporation may have a single shareholder or tens of thousands of shareholders. The former is often referred to as a "closely held corporation". The California Corporations Code does not use or define the term "closely held corporation" although...

California and Nevada Secretaries of State Shut Down Counter Service

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Secretaries of State for California and Nevada have announced shut-down of their counter filing services.