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 Says Corporations And LLCs Can't Be Directors; The Securities Exchange Act Apparently Believes Otherwise

Nine years ago, I posed the question of whether the California General Corporation Law permits corporations to serve as directors. My answer at the time was "no" because Section 164 of the Corporations Code defines "director" to mean a natural...

Court Ruling Deals Blow To DFPI's "True Lender" Theory

While the California Financing Law defines "finance lender", it does so in a very open-ended and nonspecific manner. Cal. Fin. Code § 22009 ("'Finance lender' includes any person who is engaged in the business of making consumer loans or making...

How Long Is Six Months?

Statutory time periods can be ambiguous.  For example, what does "six months" mean when one month has 28 or 29 days, other months have 30 days and still others have 31 days. 

The Nebulous Meaning Of "Small Business" In New Ban On Commercial Loan Fees

Beginning in January, "covered entities" will be prohibited from charging specified fees in connection with a commercial financing transaction with a "small business" or "small business" owner.  Cal. Stat. ch. 881 (SB 666). Although relatively brief,...

Nevada Supreme Court Defines Blue Penciling Obligation Of Courts

In 2016, I wrote about the Nevada Supreme Court's refusal to "blue pencil" non-compete agreements so as to make them enforceable.  Golden Road Motor Inn, Inc. v. Islam, 132 Nev. 476, 488, 376 P.3d 151, 159 (2016).  The Nevada legislature was not in...

Unlicensed Lender Parries Unfair Competition Claim

Yesterday's post concerned discussed Lagrisola v. North American Financial Corp., 2023 WL 7273708 (Nov. 3, 2023), in which the Court of Appeal held that a borrower had failed to plead a cause of action against an unlicensed lender under Section...

Court Of Appeal Finds No Private Right Of Action Against Unlicensed Lender

Section 22100 of the California Financial Code prohibits persons from engaging in the business of a finance lender or broker without obtaining a license from the California Commissioner of Financial Protection & Innovation. Section 22751 provides...

Is Attaching Several Documents To A Single Email Procedurally Unconscionable?

In the high and far-off times, physical delivery was the only option of providing documents to the other side. Before copy machines, an agreement would be written and then rewritten on the same page. The two copies would be separated by cutting them...

Court Finds That The SEC Acted Arbitrarily and Capriciously In Adopting Share Repurchase Rule

When the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed to adopt a rule a rule requiring issuers to report day-to-day share repurchase data once a quarter and to disclose the reason why the issuer repurchased shares of its own stock, I submitted a ...