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

Did Joseph P. Kennedy Make Insider Trading Illegal?

The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy. (Penguin Press, 2012) by Professor David Nasaw is one of several books that I am currently reading.  As a securities lawyer, the following sentence gave me pause:

False Statements By Money Managers Support California Commodity Law Convictions

In 1990, California enacted the California Commodity Law, Stats. 1990, Ch. 969, Corp. Code § 29500 et seq.  Although this law hasn't attracted the attention of legal writers, it has some very sharp teeth, as illustrated by the recent case of People...

Criminal Conviction Of De Facto Officer Does Not Preclude D&O Coverage

After a two week trial in 2013, a jury convicted Mitchell J. Stein, a lawyer, of mail, wire, and securities fraud based on evidence that he fabricated press releases and purchase orders to inflate the stock price of his client Signalife, Inc., a...

Dismissal Based On Forum Non Conveniens Does Not Trigger Fee Shifting

California generally follows the "American Rule" with respect to attorney's fees.  Trope v. Katz, 11 Cal.4th 274, 278 (1995). Under the American Rule, each party to a lawsuit must ordinarily pay his own attorney's fees. A contract may provide,...

California's Corporations Code And Securities Rules Are Rife With Errors

Spring is the traditional season for cleaning and California's Corporations Code and securities rules are desperately in need of some tidying up.  In a very quick and incomplete review of the Code and the Commissioner's rules, I found the following:

This Foreign Corporation's Status May Be Forfeited, But The Resident Agent Remains

A recent ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Otis D. Wright II illustrates how it may be easier to enter California than to leave it.  Real v. St. Jude Med., Inc., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47081 (C.D. Cal. Mar. 29, 2017)

Removing Elected Officials For Libelous Or Slanderous Statements

In recent years political smearing and outright lying have come to dominate campaigns in California. Candidates are spending less and less time discussing important issues and their own qualifications and more and more time telling falsehoods about...

California Considers Following New England Colonists In Outlawing Fake News

In February, California Assemblyman Ed Chau introduced a bill (AB 1104) that according to its author "attacks the problem of 'fake news' by creating a new state law designed to make it illegal for someone to make false or deceptive statements about...

Best Efforts - A California Perspective

UCLA Law School Professor Stephen Bainbridge posted some thoughts yesterday on the meaning of contractual "best efforts" requirements.  See What do "best efforts" and variants mean? A proposed set of definitions. The springboard for Professor...