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

Is A Prize-Linked Savings Account A Lottery?

In 2014, the United States Congress enacted the American Savings Promotion Act, P.L. 113–251 (DEC. 18, 2014) permitting financial institutions to offer savings accounts, with the added feature of offering chances to win prizes. According to this...

California CPAs Report Few Restatements But Many Are Not Reportable 

California's Accountancy Act requires licensees to report to the California Board of Accountancy, among other things, "Any restatement of a financial statement and related disclosures by a client audited by the licensee". Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §...

Just Who Are A Corporation's "Regular Officers"?

California declares it unlawful for any person to engage in the business of, act in the capacity of, advertise as, or assume to act as a real estate broker or a real estate salesperson within California without first obtaining a real estate license....

Directors Fail To Escape Liability For Approving Dividend

I last wrote about FDIC v. Ching, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92687 (E.D. Cal. July 8, 2014) in July of 2014.  That post concerned Judge Kimberly J. Mueller's ruling that California's statutory restrictions on distributions to shareholders preempted the...

Department Of Business Oversight Continues To Grow

On January 10, 2018, Governor Jerry Brown issued his proposed budget for California's 2018/2019 fiscal year.  The proposed budget detail is available here. The Governor is proposing a modest increase (about 3%) in the total number of program position...

Was This Interim Final Rule More Final Than Interim?

In this post from July 2016, I took the Securities and Exchange Commission to task for  adding Item 16 to Form 10-K as an "Interim Final Rule". As I then explained, Interim Final Rules constitute an end-run on the notice and comment requirements of...

Federal Court Allows Reverse Veil Piercing Of Unincorporated Association

Last August, I published this post about the Fourth District Court of Appeal's decision allowing reverse veil piercing in the case of a Delaware limited liability company even though the court had refused to allow it in the case of a corporation....

DBO Reports Increase In Adviser Examinations

The California Department of Business Oversight recently issued its annual Broker-Dealer/Investment Adviser report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017. The DBO reports that it had 3,808 investment adviser firms licensed at year end. These firms...

Does California Place Your Company At Risk?

Is doing business in California risky?  More than a few companies seem to think so.  Below are few California related risks that I noticed in the risk factors section of recently filed Form 10-Ks.