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

California Secretary Of State Upgrades Business Searches

For some time, the California Secretary of State's office has offered a business search application on its website.  Although the function provided only limited information, the application received more than 5 million views per month.  On St. Lucia's...

Has The SEC Paid Millions In Whistleblower Bounties To "Friends And Family"?

Earlier this month, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced yet another large whistleblower bounty.  See SEC Awards Nearly $1 Million to Whistleblower. This brings to $136 million the total amount awarded to date by the SEC to...

Pay By Another Name Might Be Salt

Yesterday's post concerned the classification of directors and officers as employees for purposes of California's workers' compensation law. Effective January 1, 2017, California Labor Code Section 3351(c) will define "employee" to include all...

Is A Corporate Director An Employee Subject To Workers' Compensation?
SEC Takes Action Because Issuer Did Not Effect A Public Offering

Until the addition of paragraph (c) to Rule 506 three years ago, securities lawyers spent a lot of time advising their clients on how to avoid a public offering of their securities. Thus, I found it somewhat ironic to read that the Securities and...

Congress Voids Form Contract Provisions That Impede Consumer Reviews

To paraphrase William Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage, businesses may ask you for a review, but they only want praise. Indeed some businesses have tried to ensure only good reviews by including non-disparagement clauses in their consumer...

What Are Protestants Doing In The California Water Code?

The California Water Code makes numerous reference to "protestants". Secularists need not fear. The reference isn't to adherents of the reformation theologies of Martin Luther, John Calvin or Huldrych Zwingli. These are small "p" protestants, that...

There's Still Time For Congress To Void The SEC's Resource Extraction Rule

Last June, the Securities and Exchange Commission belatedly adopted a rule requiring disclosure of resource extraction payments by issuers.  As I wrote at the time:

Commissioner Finds Funding Is Not A Sine Qua Non For Lender Status

The California Department of Business Oversight administers and enforces the California Finance Lenders Law, Cal. Fin. Code § 22000 et seq.  The CFLL prohibits any person from engaging in the business of a "finance lender" without a license, unless...