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

Mandatory Retirement Policies And California Law

In yesterday's Mentor Blog, Liz Dunshee asked whether mandatory retirement policies are a thing of the past. This led me to question whether age discrimination of this sort is even legal in California. Asking about, I learned that California...

With Respect To Scienter, The Ninth Circuit Walks By Its Wild Lone

Although the United States Supreme Court has never directly addressed the issue, many lower courts have inferred that a private right action exists under Section 14(e) of the Exchange Act. That may not come of much a surprise since it was modeled on...

Must A Board Of Directors Authorize The Filing Of A Lawsuit On The Corporation's Behalf?

California Corporations Code Section 300(a) declares that "the business and affairs of the corporation shall be managed and all corporate powers shall be exercised by or under the direction of the board." Does this mean that the board of directors...

What Does LAX Have To Do With Female Board Membership?

Tuesday's post took note of a recent study authored by Sunwoo Hwang and Professors AnilShivdasaniandElena Simintzi at the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School.  They found that California's enactment of SB 826 imposing...

When To Worry About Blue Sky Laws

Recently, I came across a very helpful table on the SEC's website.  The table illustrates which offerings exempt from Section 5 of the Securities Act may be subject to state registration or qualification requirements:

Did California's Enactment Of Board Gender Quota Law Cause A Significant Decline In Shareholder Value?

As noted by Professor Stephen Bainbridge yesterday, a recent study has concluded that California's enactment of SB 826 has "resulted in a significant decline in shareholder value for firms headquartered in California".  Sunwoo Hwang and Professors ...

Buyer Liability Under The California Corporate Securities Law

Last Friday's post concerned liability under Section 12(a) of the Securities Act of 1933.  As noted in the post, Section 12(a)(2), unlike Section 12(a)(1), is an antifraud statute.  It imposes liability on any person who:

Court Finds Section 12(a) Claim Fails For Failure To Plead Scienter?

I recently covered liability under Sections 11 and 12 of the Securities Act of 1933 in the securities regulation course that I am teaching at the University of California, Irvine School of Law. Thus, I was interested to read a recent ruling by U.S....

Report Issued On Two-For-One Executive Order, But What About The SEC?

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs recently published a report on the fiscal 2018 results of President Trump's Executive Order 13771 (Jan. 30, 2017) requiring federal agencies and departments to, among other things, eliminate two...