California Corporate & Securities Law

Chapter 1 of the California General Corporation Law includes a large number of definitions, beginning with "Acknowledged" (Section 149) and ending with "Written, in writing" (Section 195). It is easy to gloss over these terms as the balance of the...

Earlier this week, UCLA Law School Professor Stephen Bainbridge precised the question of corporate philanthropy. He notes "Virtually all states have adopted statutes specifically granting corporations the power to make charitable donations, which...

I suspect that at least a few California corporate lawyers are unaware of a provision in the California Corporations Code requiring the articles or bylaws of certain corporations to contain a limitation on the salaries paid to the persons operating...

Last Friday, I observed that the definitions of "person" found in the Securities Act and the Securities Exchange Act are oddly incongruous. The California Corporations Code is similarly inharmonious. Section 18 of the Code, which applies to the...

I have long puzzled over the question of which is correct - "derivative suit" or "derivative action"? Historically, the term "suit" was used for proceedings in equity. California courts have generally regarded shareholder derivative claims as...

I expect that little or no thought is given to the possible application of California's Corporate Securities Law of 1968 when a corporation incorporates a subsidiary under the laws of a foreign country. However, the issuance of shares to a corporate...

California Corporations Code Section 603(a) broadly authorizes shareholder action by written consent:

No California appellate court has yet addressed the validity of forum selection bylaws in a published decision. When the question comes before a California appellate court, the outcome may turn on the meaning of "may" in California Corporations Code...

California Corporations Code Section 1001 requires approval by the outstanding shares (Corp. Code § 152) of the principal terms of a sale of all or substantially all of a corporation’s assets (unless the transaction is in the usual and regular...