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 Is Ground Zero For Forum Selection

In a forthcoming paper to be published in the Delaware Journal of Corporate Law, former SEC Commissioner Joseph A. Grundfest concludes that the forum selection is a peculiarly California-Delaware pas de deux:

Effecting A Short-Form Merger? Don't Forget To Give Notice

Although California's General Corporation Law is frequently criticized as overly restrictive, it does have one virtue. It is rationally organized. Thus, it begins with a long series of defined terms, starting with "acknowledged" and ending with...

CalPERS Suffers Standing Setback In Spiking Suit

Last Friday, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael P. Kenny ruled on demurrers to a petition for a writ of mandamus filed against the Board of Administration of the California Public Employees Retirement System, California Prison Healthcare...

June 30 Was The Filing Deadline For Statements By Foreign Lending Institutions

In this March post, I wrote about the problem of indeterminacy created by the legislature's use of the word "includes" in defining terms in the General Corporation Law. "Includes" is usually interpreted in statutes and rules as a term of...

Commissioner Files Private Fund Adviser Exemption With The Office Of Administrative Law

Almost There

California Bill Threatens Market Exception For Dissenters' Rights

The California legislature is taking its summer recess and will reconvene on August 6. Joint Rule 51(b)(2). It will then sit until August 31 which is the last day for either the Senate or the Assembly to pass bills. Cal. Const. Art. IV, §10(c) and...

California Legislature Calls Supreme Court Decision "A Serious And Direct Threat To Our Democracy"

The California legislature recently passed a joint resolution, AJR 22 (Wieckowski & Allen), that is harshly critical of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 50 (2010). In that decision,...

Legislature Poised To Impose Huge Costs By Rewriting Every California LLC Operating Agreement

On January 1, 2016, the operating agreement of every limited liability company organized under Beverly-Killea Limited Liability Company Act, Cal. Corp. Code §§ 17000 et seq. may be amended. This is no Millerite prophecy. The legislature is poised to...

Dissenters' Rights And The Saddest Plaintiff

Dissenters' rights statutes are intended to liberate minority stockholders from the tyranny of the majority. They accomplish this by allowing stockholders who object to specific transactions the opportunity to require the corporation to purchase...