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

1 For 3 Million Reverse Split Fraud Claim Survives Motion To Dismiss

Nancy Wojtas at Cooley LLP alerted me to an interesting ruling case decided last week by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Gardner v. Major Auto. Cos., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118191 (E.D. N.Y. Aug. 21, 2012).

No Surprises Here - California Court Won't Enforce Non-Compete

Employers like covenants not to compete; California doesn't.  Anyone who doubts these two propositions should read the opinion issued last Friday by the Fourth District Court of Appeal in Fillpoint, LLC v. Maas, 2012 Cal. App. LEXIS 914 (Aug. 24,...

A Program Guide To The Facebook Fairness Hearing

As discussed in this earlier post, Facebook, Inc. has requested a fairness hearing before the California Department of Corporations. Technically, the hearing is being held pursuant to Corporations Code Section 25142 in connection with Facebook's...

Second Circuit Declines To Apply California Securities Law In Auction Rate Securities Case

In May 2011, I wrote about U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston's decision allowing a purchaser of auction rate securities to pursue claims under the California Corporations Code against Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.  Anschutz Corp. v. Merrill...

"For Now", Hiring An Employee And Leasing An Office Doesn't Necessarily Add Up To Transacting Intrastate Business

An Illinois corporation hires an employee, leases office space in California. A dispute then arises between the corporation and its California employee. The employee sues and the corporation counterclaims. The employee moves to dismiss the...

Can An Attorney Blow The Whistle On His Client?

This month's issue of California Lawyer magazine includes this long piece discussing the case of Dimitrious P. Biller, a former in-house attorney. In 2011, an arbitrator order Mr. Biller to pay his former employer $2.6 million in damages and...

Borrowing Money From A Foreign Government May Make You A Subversive Organization In California

In 1941, Robert Noble, Ellis O. Jones and several other individuals were indicted for violating California's Subversive Organization Registration Law. The defendants were active in a pro-German group called the Friends of Progress. Eventually, they...

It's Farrago Friday!

CalPERS Voting Data Clarified

La Debacle - California's Flawed Bid To Enact The NCCUSL's LLC Act

For some time, I've been sounding the alarm against SB 323 (Vargas).  As introduced, this bill would have repealed California's Beverly-Killea Limited Liability Company Act, Corporations Code Section 17000 et seq., and enact a version of the Uniform...