California Corporate & Securities Law

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....

Since I served as Commissioner of Corporations in the 1990s, the Department of Corporations has consolidated with the Department of Financial Institutions and changed its name twice. It is now known by the unwieldy name of "Department of Financial...

A lot has changed since George Gerro filed an action seeking a declaration that the California finance lender's license issued to BlockFi Lending LLC was both void and improperly issued: Blockfi has filed for bankruptcy; the Department of Financial...

Given the importance of venture capital to California's economy, one might expect that state lawmakers would be keen to nurture the industry rather than enact laws that encourage venture capital companies to avoid the Golden State.   Last year, I ...