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's D&O Loan Ban And Advancement Of Expenses

Yesterday's post outlined the general scope of the ban on loans to directors and officers found in Section 315 of the California Corporations Code. Because Section 315 doesn't define "loan", it may not always be clear whether an arrangement is a...

California's Ban On Loans To Directors And Officers

California banned loans to directors and officers decades before Congress thought of doing so as part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Current Corporations Code Section 315 prohibits corporations (defined in Section 162) from making loans of money...

Legislature (Re)Enacts A Maximum De Minimis Finance Lenders Law Exemption

The California Finance Lenders Law defines a "finance lender" as anyone that is engaged in the business of making consumer loans or making commercial loans. Cal. Fin. Code § 22009. Knowing the definition of "finance lender" is important because...

SEC Overlooks Nevada's Transfer Agent Licensing Laws

Transfer agents provide a number of crucial services, primarily for publicly traded companies. Among other responsibilities, they maintain ownership records, record security transfers, issue and cancel certificates and distribute dividends. Since...

Does California Corporate Law Really Govern 20% of All Public Companies?

On Tuesday, the Deal Professor (aka Berkeley Law School Professor Steven Davidoff Solomon) wrote an interesting column for The New York Times' Dealb%k.  According to the Professor, California is the headquarters state for 20% of all companies with...

Can Limited Partnerships Have Officers?

Can limited partnerships have officers?  In many cases, individuals with officer titles will actually be officers of the general partner.  My question is whether a limited partnership itself may have officers.

What The Public Utilities Code, Toilets And A Porphyrogenetus Emperor Have In Common

Mobile West LLC v. City & County of San Francisco, 2016 Cal. App. LEXIS 769 (1st Dist. Sept. 15, 2016) is not the kind of case that I typically write about in this blog. After all, it has nothing to do with corporate, securities or limited liability...

Should Tweener Corporations Include This Provision In Their Equity Compensation Plans?

I have previously commented on the phenomenon of what I call the "tweener" corporation.  See Will The Rise Of Tweener Corporations Increase Focus On California’s Annual Report Statute? These are corporations that are not quite private and not quite...

Court Rules Coequal Stockholders Owe Fiduciary Duties To Each Other

Stockholders in closely held corporations often operate their companies as if they were partnerships.  Does that mean that the stockholders, like partners, owe fiduciary duties to each other?