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

No Separate Action For Partners

A corporation and a partnership enter into a contract. Alleging that the partnership is in breach, the corporation sues the partnership and its two general partners. Neither of the partners is a party to the contract. However, California's Uniform...

Court Finds No Privilege For Fraternal Execution

No, this wasn't a case of Cain and Abel or Romulus and Remus, but it did involve brothers and an execution of sorts.  The protaganists in Chen v. Berenjian, 2019 Cal. App. LEXIS 275 were Chen and the brothers Berenjian (Shazad and Sharmad). According...

Legislator Proposes Limited Immortality For California LLCs

The California Revised Uniform Limited Liability Act originally provided that "A limited liability company thatis dissolved nevertheless continues to exist for the purpose of winding up its affairs, prosecuting and defending actions by or against...

Judge Finds No Privity Required For Control Persons

Last May, I wrote about U.S. District Court Judge Arthur D. Spatt's ruling in Hatteras Enters. v. Forsythe Cosmetic Grp., Ltd., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68792. That post concerned Judge Spatt's decision to apply California's Corporate Securities Law of...

Bank Directors Appointed By Politicians - What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

I recently wrote about proposed legislation (SB 528) that would establish the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank) as a depository institution.  The I-Bank, despite its name, does not currently accept deposits.  The bill ...

Court: Internal Affairs Yields To Choice Of Law
But Wait, Nevada Already Has A Fee Shifting Statute

Yesterday, I took note of a recently introduced Nevada bill, AB 304, that would, among other things, allow a Nevada corporation to impose liability on a stockholder for attorney's fees and costs in connection with an "unsuccessful internal corporate...

Irony Of Ironies: Massachusetts Court Issues First Opinion Applying Nevada Internal Affairs Statute

In 2017, Nevada codified the internal affairs doctrine by enacting NRS 78.012:

Two Partners, Three Lawyers, What Would King Solomon Do?

Jarvis Properties is a limited partnership with two general partners. As fate would have it, the two general partners are brothers and each brother holds a 50% interest in the partnership. When one brother, James, sued for partition, the other...