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

Life Settlement Contracts Are Securities in CA

Broc Romanek also mentions in his blog today that the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a task force report on life settlement contracts. Among other things, the task force recommends that Congress amend the definition of "security" under...

What if There is No Deficiency?

Yesterday, Broc Romanek reported that the staff of the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance has issued a new Compliance & Disclosure Interpretation addressing Section 413(a) of the Dodd-Frank Act. Section 413(a) requires the SEC to adjust the...

Shareholder Approval of Political Contributions – Coming Soon?

On June 22, 2010, I posted an item concerning AB 919 (Nava), a California bill that would require corporations to report political contributions to shareholders and make refunds to those shareholders who don't agree.  In today's Proxy Season Blog,...

“‘Tis Well Consented” Vel Non

On July 19, 2010, I discussed action by written consent of the board pursuant to Corporations Code Section 307.  The statute is remarkably silent on some key points.  For example, while the statute clearly requires that consents be in writing (see...

A Rara Avis Indeed, The Capital Access Company

More than a decade ago, the California legislature added the Capital Access Company Law to the Corporations Code, Stats. 1998, c. 668 (S.B. 2189). The intent of the law was to take advantage of an exemption to the Investment Company Act of 1940 that...

Closing the Barn Door . . .

Yesterday, I wrote about Section 413 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ("DF Act").  You can watch President Obama's explanation of Wall Street reform here

People v. Cole – “So What Happens Now?”

Yesterday was the last day for comments on the Commissioner's proposed rule to address the Court of Appeal's holding in People v. Cole, 156 Cal. App. 4th 452 (2007). I've seen that several persons have submitted comments in addition to myself - all...

Can You Still Include Your Primary Residence in California?

With Congress' passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "DF Act"), lawyers across the nation are struggling to come to grips with the act's impact on their clients. Lawyers representing businesses in need of...

Section 307 – No More Sunset

Some readers may have noticed that there are currently two Section 307s in the Corporations Code. One version of Section 307 provides in subdivision (d) that it remains in effect only until January 1, 2011. This is commonly referred to as a "sunset...