California Corporate & Securities Law

In the mid 1990s, I had the privilege of serving as Commissioner of Corporations for the State of California. At that time, the DOC was known as a tough securities regulator. However, the times they were a changin'. In 1996, Congress enacted the...

Last month, Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Khalil “KC” Mohseni, as Commissioner of the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.  Commissioner Mohseni is not an entirely new to the DFPI.  He served as Chief Deputy Director of the...

California legislators are introducing the first bills in the current biennium.  One of these bills, AB 83 (Pacheco), would add an entirely new division to the California Financial Code. This new division would consist of a single section and this...

The California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation has created an online "Crypto Scam Tracker" that allows the public to by search company name, scam type, or keywords. Scams reported on the Tracker are based on consumer complaints to...

The Commissioner of Financial Protection & Innovation is appointed by the Governor and is subject to confirmation by the Senate. Cal. Fin. Code § 322. The Governor, however, is not free to appoint just anyone. To be eligible for appointment, an...

When an erstwhile shareholder of First Republic Bank sued the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation for failing to safeguard the "financial soundness and structural integrity" of the bank, the DFPI "took the Eleventh". The...

The California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL) authorizes the Department of Financial Protection & Innovation (DFPI) “regarding registration requirements applicable to a covered person engaged in the business of offering or providing a...

A year ago, Governor Gavin Newsom signed two bills, Assembly Bill 39 and Senate Bill 401, that created the California Digital Financial Assets Law.  SB 401 added Section 3902 to the Financial Code to prohibit an operator of a digital financial asset...

In S.E.C. v. Jarkesy,2024 WL 3187811 (June 27, 2024), the United States Supreme Court held that when the Securities and Exchange Commission seeks civil penalties against a defendant for securities fraud, the Seventh Amendment to the U.S....