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

California Secretary Of State Inadvertently Releases Records Of Forced Sterilizations

The first law signed by California's first Governor, Peter Burnett, was the The Act Concerning the Public Archives (Chapter 1, Statutes of 1850). The act instructed the Secretary of State, William Van Voorhies, to classify and safely keep government...

Is The California Secretary of State Monitoring What You Publish Online?

In 2018, the California legislature established a "ministry of truth" within the California Secretary of State's office - the Office of Elections Cybersecurity. By statute, the OEC has a duty “[t]o monitor and counteract false or misleading...

Bank Runs And Bank Libels

The big financial news on Friday was the failure of Silicon Valley Bank.  According to the DFPI's order, an announcement of a capital raise by the bank triggered a run on the bank:

Despite the bank being in sound financial condition prior to March...

CFL Licensees Beware The Ides Of March

Lenders and brokers licensed under the California Finance Lenders Law must file an annual report by the Ides of March (i.e.,March 15) of each year.  Cal. Fin. Code § 22159.  This is a hard deadline and the Department of Financial Protection &...

Will Mallory Derail Delaware's Dominance?

Last November, I questioned whether Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co., U.S. S. Ct. Case No. No. 21-1168 will wipe out Delaware's hegemony over corporate litigation.  In a recent post, Professor Josh Blackman considers Mallory in light of the...

A Corporation Is A Body But Also An "Individual"

Several years ago, I wrote about the various meanings of "person" in the California Corporations Code. All of the definitions mentioned in that post included corporations within the list of persons. If a corporation is a person, is it also an...

Delaware's Immodest Embrace Of The Internal Affairs Doctrine

As a voice crying in the wilderness, I have for many years proclaimed that the internal affairs doctrine is not as all-encompassing as Delaware and its devotees would like to believe. The limitations on the internal affairs doctrine are particularly...

Nevada Legislature Mulls Creation Of Fund For Victims Of Securities Fraud

It is an odd-numbered year and this means that the Nevada legislature is back in Carson City for its 82nd session.  One of the bills that it will be considering is AB 67 which would create a restitution fund for some, but not all, victims of...

Can Nonprecedential Decisions Be Relied Upon?

Yesterday's post noted that an administrative decision had not been listed as a "precedent decision".  Today's post will delve into the role of precedential and nonprecedential agency decisions.