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

Shareholder Rights Project Rewrites Website

Last week when I visited the Shareholder Rights Project's website, I noted that the SRP described itself as "representing and advising five institutional investors, four public pension funds and one foundation". Not being sure what this...

SEC Condemns Breach Of Client Confidences While Offering Possible Bounties For Breaches

Yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it had "charged a California-based attorney and his wife with insider trading on confidential information obtained from a corporate client."  According to the SEC's complaint, the...

The Shareholder Rights Project: Advice And Representation

Professor (and former SEC Commissioner) Joseph A. Grundfest and incumbent SEC Commissioner Daniel M. Gallagher have certainly fomented a spirited donnybrook over the Shareholder Rights Project at Harvard.  As discussed in this post, they recently...

This May Not Be Rocket Science, But Is NASAA's Form D Filing Fee Legal?

Earlier this week, the North American Securities Administrators Association (aka NASAA) announced the launch of its Electronic Filing Depository (EFD). The EFD allows issuers to file Form Ds in Rule 506 offerings online. A number of states (but not...

9th Circuit Upholds Issue Preclusion In Subsequent Derivative Suit

Derivative suits rarely arrive alone. When something goes awry, directors and officers can be expected to see multiple suits based on demand futility as well as wrongful demand refusal. Often, suits will be filed at different times and in different...

Ninth Circuit Requires Particularity In All Elements Of Securities Fraud Pleading

Sometimes, I find it useful to take a step back and review the legal standard applicable to securities fraud claims under Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5. To stay in court, and securities litigation all about surviving motions to dismiss, a plaintiff...

In Texas Can Some Shares Be More Equal Than Others?

Although Rome before Augustus is often described as a republic, it was in many respects ruled by the wealthy who jealously guarded their power.  So it was with Rome's comitia centuriata.  In theory, this was an assembly of the peoplethat elected the...

SEC Seeks To "Overrule" Fifth Circuit Whistleblower Interpretation

In Asadi v. G.E. Energy United States, L.L.C., 720 F.3d 620 (5th Cir. 2013), the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that an employee who reported a suspected Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violation internally but not to the Securities and Exchange...

Commissioner Gallagher Posits SEC Would Prevail Against Harvard University

Just this week, Commissioner Daniel M. Gallagher and former Commissioner Joseph A. Grundfest issued a draft of a paper that takes on the Harvard Shareholder Rights Project. The Harvard SRP describes itself as "a clinical program operating at Harvard...