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

A Shareholder Consent In Its Dotage May Or May Not Be Valid

California Corporations Code Section 603(a) broadly authorizes shareholder action by written consent:

New Rule 147A And Amendments To Rule 147 Are Now Effective

Last October the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted amendments to Rule 147 to modernize the safe harbor under Section 3(a)(11) and a new intrastate offering exemption, Rule 147A.  See Will New Rule 147A Lead To A Renaissance In California...

Financial Difficulties - A Bizarrely Vague Standard For Disclosure

Earlier this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission published for comment proposed amendments to the Municipal Securities Disclosure Rule (Rule 15c2-12). The existing rule is complicated and I will not attempt to explain it here. For purposes...

Scienter Requirement May Be A Question Of Timing

On several occasions, I have written about whether scienter is required under Corporations Code Section 25401.  That question surfaced again last week in Judge Gonzolo P. Curiel's ruling on the defendants' motion to dismiss federal and state...

Can Usury Ever Be Waived?

California courts have defined "usury" as "the exacting, taking or receiving of a greater rate than is allowed by law, for the use or loan of money." Ross v. Wheeler 140 Cal. App. 217, 222 (1934). The California Constitution sets the maximum rate of...

Did A Non-Existent Committee Move To Update Corporations Code?

In April, I kvetched about numerous outdated references in the California Corporations Code. For example, several provisions of the Code continue to refer to the "Internal Revenue Code of 1954" more than three decades after the enactment of the...

Can Pseudo-Foreign Corporations Exonerate Their Directors?

Corporations Code Section 2115 is not an easy read.  Fortunately, California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye has provided a more digestible overview of the statute:

California Judge Troubled By Trulia Refuses To Approve Settlements

Kevin LaCroix recently tackled the question Is Deal Litigation in Delaware Done? According to Kevin, "deal litigation has been shifting from Delaware Chancery Court to courts in other states and to federal courts". He attributes this shift to...

Officers Of Foreign Corporations And The California Courts

Yesterday's post concerned Section 2116 of the California Corporations Code.  Courts sometimes describe Section 2116 as codifying the internal affairs doctrine.  See, e.g., Vaughn v. LJ Internat., Inc., 174 Cal. App. 4th 213, 223 (2009) and Voss v....