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

Why Keeping Corporate Lawyers Quiet Is Good For Us All

In a recent post in The New York Times DealBook, Berkeley Law School Professor Steven Davidoff Solomon argues that keeping corporate lawyers silent "can shelter wrongdoing". I completely agree that the attorney-client privilege limits society's...

Judge Rules Choice Of Law Waives CSL Claim

I was quite surprised to read Judge Gregory M. Sleet's ruling in OpenGate Capital Group LLC v. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92256 (D. Del. July 8, 2014). The lawsuit was brought by the purchaser of a business. The purchase...

Company Sues Former Officer For Failing To File Form 4s

A complaint filed in the Central District of California caught my eye because it involved the rather unusual circumstance of a corporation suing a former director and officer for, among other things, failing to file reports under Section 16(a) of...

Court Rules LLC Form Provided No Fiduciary Shield To Personal Jurisdiction

Last Friday's post concerned whether a plaintiff could establish jurisdiction by tagging a corporate officer attending a conference in California. The question was whether a corporation is present wherever its officers are present. Today's post...

Ninth Circuit Finds No Tag Jurisdiction Over Foreign Corporation

When a corporation sends an officer to a conference in California, is the corporation present in California? A corporation can only act through its officers. Thus, it might be said that the corporation is present wherever its officers happen to be,...

Can A Whistleblower Disclose What Has Already Been Reported?

In California, employees who blow the whistle are protected from retaliation by Labor Code § 1102.5(b) which provides:

Indemnification And The Circle Of Litigation

An employee sues his employer for, among other things, violations of the California Labor Code. The quondam employer responds with a counterclaim against its erstwhile employee claiming that to the extent it is liable, the employee is partially...

If A Tree Falls In The City, Is It Serving A Public Purpose?

Today's posting has nothing to do with corporate law and everything to do with trees. On November 30 and December 1, 2011, the City of Pasadena experienced an unusually violent windstorm. Wind speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour were recorded...

California Finders Bill Trapped In The Weeds As Legislative Deadline Looms

The question of whether finders' fees can be paid in securities transactions has bedeviled issuers for decades. The Corporations Committee of the Business Law Section of the California has tried to address this recurring problem by sponsoring AB 713...