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

Court Finds Lawsuit By Corporation Against Minority Shareholder Is "Protected Activity"

SLAPP is the initialization of the phrase "strategic lawsuit against public participation".  A more informative description of SLAPP suits is found in Simpson Strong-Tie Co., Inc. v. Gore, 49 Cal.4th 12, 21 (2010):

Nevada Legislature Mulls Codification Of The Internal Affairs Doctrine

Delaware and Nevada are each in the business of marketing their corporate laws to businesses in other states. Thus, it should surprise no one that these states don't appreciate it when their legal offerings are undermined by other states. One way to...

How The Proposed Fix To Delaware's Stockholder Consent Statute Can Be Fixed

Earlier this week, I wrote about a proposed amendment to Section 228 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. The amendment, which is proposed by The Corporate Council of the Corporation Law Section of the Delaware State Bar, would essentially...

Consumer Loan, Commercial Loan or Neither?

The California Finance Lenders Law imposes a licensing requirement on persons engaged in the business of a finance lender. Cal. Fin. Code § 22100(a). Chapter 2 of the CFLL imposes a host of requirements on "consumer loans" and Chapter 3 imposes a...

After 25 Years, Delaware Begins To See The Light

A quarter century ago, I wrote a brief piece criticizing how Delaware handled stockholder action by written consent:

"And" Or "Or" - This Ninth Circuit Opinion Highlights The Difference

"And" and "or" are classified as conjunctions. They are classified as such because they yoke together words, phrases, clauses and sometimes even sentences. They are not interchangeable, however, as illustrated by the recent opinion by the Ninth...

Why Bassam Salman Should Not Have Been Convicted

A lot of ink has been spilt on the United States Supreme Court's decision in Salman v. United States, 137 S. Ct. 420 (2016). In that case, the Supreme Court upheld the criminal conviction of Mr. Bassam Salman who received lucrative trading tips from...

Can It Be That California, "The Biggest Loser" Is Also Number One?

In February, I published a post entitled Is California "The Biggest Loser". My reference was to Professor Lynn LoPucki's finding that "California, home to 1,210 [public] companies but state of incorporation for only 112, is the biggest loser"....

Exactly What Part Of "To The Commission" Is Ambiguous?

The Dodd-Frank Act gave us many things, including Section 21F of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Section 21F, prohibits employers from retaliating against a "whistleblower". 15 U.S.C. § 78u-6(h)(1)(A). We need not guess about the definition of...