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

Options Trading Without The Issuer's Consent

In yesterday's post, I discussed secondary trading of standardized options and noted that the SEC has taken the position that in the case of standardized options the issuer is The Options Clearing Corporation. This leads to the question of whether...

Standardized Options - Who's Your Daddy?

A securities call option is a derivative security representing the right, but not the obligation, to acquire an underlying security. When the person selling an option is also the issuer of the underlying security, then there is no question that that...

Soon It Will Be Easier For California Corporations To Make Distributions To Shareholders

Chapter 5 of the Corporations Code establishes various limitations on distributions by California corporations. The term "distributions to its shareholders" is itself defined in Section 166. The question of appropriate limitations on dividends and...

"These are the Glengarry leads. And to you, they're gold."

A Friday Miscellany

California's Oversight Of Accountants

Yesterday, Broc Romanek wrote in his blog about the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's announcement of settled disciplinary actions against three accountants.   In California, accountants are regulated by the California Board of Accountancy.

Certification Pursuant To Section 25100(o) - Why It Still Matters (Part 2) And A Comment on H.R. 2483

Section 15100(o) and Usury

Certification Pursuant To Section 25100(o) - Why It Still Matters (Part 1)

On October 11, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the National Securities Markets Improvement Act (aka the "NSMIA") into law. The NSMIA preempted qualification requirements under state blue sky laws with respect to "covered securities". In general,...

California And The Certification Of Stock Exchanges

Currently, there are 15 national securities exchanges registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Section 6(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.[1] In addition, six exchanges are registered with the SEC pursuant to...

New U.S. Exchange - "It's Better Than A Magic Lantern Show"

What's the third largest securities exchange operator in the United States and where is it located?  The answers may surprise you.  The exchange operator is called BATS and it is based outside of Kansas City.  BATS is derived from an initialization of B