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

Ulysses And Unlicensed Businesses

In the Cyclops chapter of James Joyce's Ulysses, the narrator explains to one Joe Hynes that he is now working as a debt collector, albeit without great success:

DBO Issues Guidance To Banks And Credit Unions Serving Cannabis Related Businesses

In the early 1970s, I worked as a petroleum transfer engineer (aka service station attendant). In those halcyon days, we actually pumped the gas for customers, washed their windows and offered to check the oil. I remember one customer who was a...

Governor Signs Bill Authorizing Public Banks - What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Yesterday, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 857 into law.  The bill authorizes local agencies to establish so-called "public banks", subject to approval by the Department of Business Oversight and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. 

Real Estate Development Runs Afoul Of California Securities Laws

Yesterday, the California Department of Business Oversight issued this press release announcing that San Diego Superior Court Judge Joel R. Wohlfeil granted the DBO’s request for a temporary restraining order.  The TRO bars further land sales,...

Can A Company Have More Than One Principal Executive Office?

The Securities and Exchange Commission's Form 10-K requires disclosure of a company's "principal executive offices". The SEC, however, provides no definition of what constitutes a company's "principal executive offices". Until now, this may not have...

This California Securities Law Allows California Issuers To Choose The Law Of Another Jurisdiction

One might reasonably expect that California law will apply to matters involving the transfer of securities issued by corporations and other issuers organized under California law. These California issuers, however, are free to choose to have the law...

How To Avoid The California General Corporation Law

The California legislature has famously extended many provisions of the California General Corporation Law to corporations under the laws of other states.  But, as Michael Corleone observed at the beginning The Godfather: Part III: "Just when I...

California Enacts Another Risk Factor

On September 18, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 5, a bill dealing with the classification of workers as employees or independent contractors. It will probably come as no surprise that the bill intended to make it more likely that a worker will be...

Court Holds Assignment Vitiates Contract Provision Limiting Damages

Yesterday, a division of the California Court of Appeal came to the rather surprising conclusion that an assignment of a contract deprived the assignor of the benefit of a contractual limitation on liability.  Gietzen v. Covenant Re Management, Inc.,