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

Adjudicate or Rule Make? That May Not Be A Question For The Courts

Professor Stephen Bainbridge yesterday passed along Henry G. Manne's criticism of the SEC's use of adjudication in lieu of rulemaking. For those who haven't taken my Administrative Law class, there are actually two types of adjudication and three...

If Bylaws Are Contracts, Where's The Boilerplate?

Bylaws hardly constitute literature. For the most part, they simply regurgitate the applicable general corporation law with a few permitted changes here and there. In general, there seems to be two schools of thought when it comes drafting bylaws....

Can An Employment Agreement Be A Wee Bit Too Integrated?

The Bylaws of many public companies provide for mandatory indemnification of directors and officers (and sometimes other agents as well). Often, Bylaws describe these indemnity obligations as contract rights. For example the Bylaws of one well-known...

Forum Selection Clauses Were Here Before They Were In Bylaws

Recent rulings by judges in Delaware and other states have given impetus to the adoption of exclusive forum bylaws.  To the casual observer, the idea might seem entirely novel.  But as Koheleth (the Gatherer) wrote "What has been is what will be, and...

This Hobby Lobby Proposal Is Much Mistaken

Suzanne Weakley, editor-in-chief of the CEB Business Law Practitioner, recently called my attention to this letter from six professors at U.C. Berkeley (Robert P. Bartlett III, Richard Buxbaum, Stavros Gadinis, Justin McCrary, Steven Davidoff Solomon

The Point Of An Unenforceable Noncompete May Be Very Sharp Indeed

Writing for Mother Jones, Kevin Drum recently asked "What's the point of an unenforceable noncompete agreement?"  He posits two possible answers:

Why Including The Year Of Enactment Can Be Important

Several provisions of the California Corporate Securities Law of 1968 need to be brought up to date. Section 25100(i) is one of them. That section exempts from the qualification requirements of Sections 25110, 25120 and 25130 "Any security issued or...

Why The SEC Should Stay Out Of The Fee-Shifting Charter Debate

In a recent post, Columbia Law School Professor John C. Coffee Jr. argues that the Securities and Exchange Commission should take a number of steps to challenge and discourage the adoption of fee-shifting charter provisions.  I disagree.

New LLC Act May Curtail Authority Of Managers Of Pre-Existing LLCs

California's Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act (RULLCA) took effect on the first of this year. The RULLCA repealed California's first LLC law - the Beverly-Killea Limited Liability Company Act. The forced subjugation of pre-existing LLCs...