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

New California Law Threatens To Destroy Plan Uniformity

Companies often include a choice of law provision in their equity and other compensation plans. Some companies include a choice of law in the award agreement, either in lieu of, or in addition to, the plan document. Specifying applicable law helps...

Hiring & Firing Officers In California

John Jenkins at The Mentor Blog addresses the question of who has authority to hire and fire officers?  He notes:

Officers: Got Business Judgment Rule? Nevada Says Yes, Delaware Maybe Not

Francis Pileggi writes about a recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Sue L. Robinson in which she refused to consider whether the business judgment rule applied to officers of a Delaware corporation:

The JOBS Act And The Convergence Of Private And Public Sales Under The UCC

Section 9610(b) of the California Commercial Code provides that if commercially reasonable, a secured party may dispose of collateral by public or private proceedings, by one or more contracts, as a unit or in parcels, and at any time and place and...

"Tandy Letter" Requests - RIP

Broc Romanek reported yesterday that the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission will no longer require "Tandy Letter" disclaimers in responses to staff comments. Among other things, the Tandy Letter policy required a company to state...

Will California Public Pension Systems Go Underground In Implementing New Disclosure Law?

Writing in the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, Catherine Skulan and  Raj Marphatia provide an interesting overview of California's recently enacted alternative investment vehicle fee disclosure law, AB 2833....

How This Scotus Became A Byword For Dunce

The Supreme Court of the United States is sometimes referred to by the initialization - SCOTUS - as in the well regarded SCOTUSblog. Scotus is also a name attached to one of the most famous scholars of the High Middle Ages - John Duns Scotus....

Why You Should Have Read Last Week's Posts On California's D&O Loan Ban

I spent the better part of last week writing about California Corporations Code Section 315. The statute general prohibits a corporation (Section 162) from making a loan of money or property to, or guaranteeing the obligation of, an officer or...

These Loans Can Be Problematical Even When The Borrower Isn't An Officer or Director

I spent most of last week discussing California Corporations Code Section 315. As a reminder, that statute prohibits a corporation (Section 162) from making a loan of money or property to, or guaranteeing the obligation of, an officer or director...