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

DBO Establishes Protocol To Block Unlicensed Payday Lenders' Ads

When I served as California's Commissioner of Corporations, Internet commerce was just finding its legs and we were concerned about how to apply the Corporate Securities Law to this new technology. For state regulators, the challenge has been how to...

Could The SEC Ask Airlines To Produce Data On Delayed And Canceled Flights?

The following story is fiction.  It was imagined following the SEC's recently settled action against KBR, Inc.

Times May Change But Politicians Don't

Recently, I've been reading about the Greek playwright Euripides. It is said that Socrates rarely attended plays, but never missed a play by Euripides. Technology has changed dramatically since the fifth century B.C.E., but it seems that some things...

Are The SEC's Canons Of Ethics Written In The Wind And Waves?

It's easy to be annoyed by the SEC's failure to comply with clear statutory mandates.  However, not everyone is longanimous.  Oxfam America, for example, has moved beyond irritation to litigation. See Oxfam America Sues The SEC (Again) For Dilatory...

Collateral Damage - Should Investors Pay The Price Of Government Sting Operations?

Nearly two years ago, I wrote about a Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement action against a penny stock promoter in San Diego.  There's nothing particularly unusual about the SEC targeting penny stock fraud. What made this case interesting...

Is Chametz A Good?

The Jewish holiday of Passover begins at sundown this evening.  In preparation for Passover, observant Jews must dispose of absolutely all chametz,which is basically any food that is made with grain and water that has been allowed to leaven (rise)....

Investors Claim Failure To Qualify Justifies Issuer's Return Of Investment

The remedy for failure to qualify the sale of a security is either rescission or damages. Cal. Corp. Code § 25503. Thus, one typically expects to see investors alleging a failure to qualify as grounds for returning their investments. In a recent...

Welcome To California: No Foreign Corporations Need Apply

California continues to hemorrhage corporate charters to Delaware and Nevada.  The most recent potential emigrant is SJW Corp. which filed this proxy statement last week seeking shareholder approval of a reincorporation from California to Delaware....

Substantial, Systematic, And Continuous Contacts Do Not Establish General Jurisdiction

California courts may exercise personal jurisdiction over nonresidents "on any basis not inconsistent with the Constitution of this state or of the United States". Code Civ. Proc. § 410.10. Seventy years ago, Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone...