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

Were The SEC's Pay Ratio Rule Efforts Valiant?

James D.C. Barrall recently published a listing of ten consensuses on CEO pay ratio planning.  He begins with the following:

Another Foolish Inconsistency - This Time For Broker-Dealers

Yesterday's post chided Glass, Lewis & Co., LLC for its inconsistent positions on majority rule.  Today's post tackles a foolish inconsistency in the California Codes.  Section 25217(c) of the California Corporations Code provides:

Would Glass Lewis Have Anything To Do If It Were Consistent?

Ralph Waldo Emerson famously derided a foolish consistency, famously writing in his essay, Self-Reliance:

Court: Operating Agreement Did Not Grant Terminated Employees Lifetime Jobs

An employment agreement is one thing and an operating agreement quite another.  In ITV Gurney Holding Inc. v. Gurney, Cal. Ct. Appeal Case No. B281694, the board of a limited liability company fired two employees who were also managers. The two...

Of Touting, Tweets and Advertising

Last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued this public statement warning about touting of securities by celebrities:

Home On The Grange

As a child, I was always puzzled when I saw a Grange Hall.  Was Grange a misspelling of "range"?  If not, what was a "grange"?  Only later did I learn that "grange" was derived from the Latin word, granum, meaning a seed. The word forms part of the...

Is Someone Else's Purpose An Improper Purpose?

This post on the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation discusses Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster's recent decision in Wilkinson v. A. Schulman, Inc., 2017 Del. Ch. LEXIS 798. The case involved a stockholder's...

Can A Corporation Be An Officer?

William & Mary Law Review recently published Professor Stephen Bainbridge's article, Corporate Directors in the United Kingdom.  The abstract begins with the following observation:

FTB Publishes Disinformation About Corporations

Recently, I happened across a summary of the "key features" of a corporation on the California Franchise Tax Board's website. Recognizing that it is always a challenge to summarize accurately complex legal matters, I do beg to differ with some of...