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

Those Who Hold Themselves Apart Seem To Be Getting All The Attention

Who knew that abstentions were so newsworthy?  Here are three recent news stories involving abstentions at annual meetings:

This Ruling Appears To "Unravel The Very Fabric Of The Space-time Continuum"

In prior posts, I've cast a jaundiced eye on last year's amendment of California's general securities fraud statute, Corporations Code Section 25401.  See Die Verwandlung: How The Legislature Likely Raised The Bar On Securities Fraud Actions and ...

Do You Want Your Lawyer To Be Horatius Or Atticus Finch?

I was profoundly disheartened by these recent remarks by SEC Commissioner Kara M. Stein:

What Good Can Come From Letting The Indifferent and Undecided Hold Sway?

I've written many posts on the subject of voting because it seems so straightforward and yet turns out to be complex. In tackling any voting problem, it is important to know and understand the applicable voting rule. An example of a voting rule can...

Oracular Utterances From California's Civil Code

In prior posts, I've mentioned the Etruscans who were the northern neighbors of the Latins and the erstwhile kings of Rome.  The last of these kings was Tarquinius Superbus, also known as Tarquin the Proud. According to the ancient sources,...

Federal Court Applies California Privilege Law To Delaware Corporation

Lawyers often speak of the attorney-client privilege in the singular as if there is only one privilege. Given the multiplicity of fora in which actions may be brought, it is best to think in the plural. There are many versions of the attorney-client...

Fee Shifting Bylaw Provisions May Face Constitutional Limitation

The corporate governance world has been disquieted by Delaware Supreme Court Justice Carolyn Berger's recent opinion that upheld the validity of a fee-shifting bylaw provision in the bylaws of a Delaware non-stock corporation. ATP Tours, Inc. v....

This International Shoe Doesn't Fit: Subsidiary May Not Be Parent's Agent

Is a wholly-owned subsidiary per se an agent of the parent? In an opinion issued yesterday, the Nevada Supreme Court answered "not necessarily". The legal issue was whether the German parent of a Delaware corporation doing business in Nevada was...

DBO Filing Procedures Set To Change Big Time

When I joined the Department of Corporations, it had no website and filings were made only in hard copy. In the ensuing years, the Department (now known as the Department of Business Oversight) created a website, established system for filing...