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My desire to practice law began after I graduated from UC Berkeley. While traveling in Europe after graduating, I discovered an innate desire to help less fortunate people. The experiences overseas helped me focus my career on social goals and leveling the playing field for those who needed someone to fight for their rights. I have fulfilled that vision by volunteering at legal clinics throughout the bay area early in my career.
During law school, I worked full time at law firms. It was through this work experience that I gained knowledge in a variety of practice areas. Due to my exposure in many areas of law, I was able to open my own practice immediately after obtaining my California state bar license. Now, I litigate cases in Family Law, Criminal Law and Civil Law.
The delicate balance of giving my time to the community and building a strong clientele base has proven to those who use my services that whether or not there is a financial incentive in my work, the quality is never compromised. I am proud to have provided zealous representation across all economic classes and look forward to helping you resolve your legal issues.
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Chat withState: California
Acquired: 2011
No misconduct found
420 3rd Street, Ste 200, Oakland, CA, 94607
533 Airport Blvd., Suite 395, Burlingame, CA, 94010
41 Client Reviews
Showing 1 - 2 of 2 reviews | 1 star
Posted by anonymous | May 04, 2025 | Hired Attorney
Poor communication and strategic planning
The representation I received was disappointing in several areas. Communication was consistently lacking-important documents were forwarded without explanation or context. Time management was problematic with minimal notice before important deadlines. There was a noticeable absence of strategic pl...
Dear Mr. O (I am aware of your name but respect your desire to remain anonymous). Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry to hear that your experience did not meet your expectations and regret that you feel dissatisfied with the representation you received. However, I strongly stand by the quality of our work and the effort invested in your case. You had a challenging case with (1) a pending Domestic Violence Temporary Restrianing Order against you, (2) a spouse who did not work much, if at all, during your long-term marriage, (3) supervised visitation with your children, (4) child and spousal support orders, and (5) an attorney's fees request. On top of that, you also alleged domestic violence against your spouse. I have dealt with this exact scenario in many cases; you were not the exception. Important documents were sent to you in a timely manner, and while we aim to provide full context whenever possible, it is also expected that clients communicate questions or concerns as they arise. Generally, when we receive emails from an opposing attorney, we simply forward those emails to clients. We do not spend time explaining each and every email in an effort to keep clients' costs down because we also do our best to stretch the deposit out for as long as possible. That is exactly what occurred in your case. Strategic decisions and deadlines were addressed with you extensively based on the emails that specifically tracked the motion for support and fees, and I gave you specific items to work on with my assistant. Given the above, let me first state that we had in-depth discussions with you about strategy and I made myself available to you as needed (as reflected in the numerous emails, aside from calls and texts). I am a trial attorney and know the level of detail required to convey the upside and downside risks in various scenarios. In response, you were unequivocal in your desire to settle the restraining order filed and issued against you outside of court, reduce litigation costs, and undertake private mediation. Overall, you did not want to escalate the conflict. Nonetheless, I am sorry if I was unclear about anything, but your questions and concerns were definitely answered. While you wanted to mediate, you also wanted to file a Request for Domestic Violence Restraining Order against your spouse because you also had a TRO against you. Your increased agitation with the situation was clear (supervised visitation and a TRO) and your demands on me increased; you wavered between litigation and finding a solution. Thus, strategic decisions were made with your best interests in mind based on the information available at each stage. And since we were still negotiating with opposing counsel about her TRO against you, we stalled on filing one against her which I later realized was your main feeling of disappointment. I have litigated cross requests for restraining orders throughout my career and made you aware of the possible outcomes. I can say confidentally that we achieved good results during the time we worked together. The issue was that the path forward was not clear because you wanted your spouse to dismiss the DV/TRO before you decided to file one against her. I recognize that expectations around communication and clarity in the overall process can vary, and we will continue to evaluate ways to improve the client experience. We are committed to delivering professional, diligent representation, and we regret that this was not your impression. We wish you the best moving forward. -Attorney Gaurav Bali
Posted by Melissa | July 18, 2019 | Hired Attorney | Child Support
Regrettable experience
I hired Guarav Bali for a child support modification. This process took a year and it was not completed. Guarav Bali was often unresponsive, would not make scheduled phone calls, or would do work that was unnecessary to the modification - i understand mistakes and accidents happen but this was so fre...
Dear Melissa, I'm surprised to see that you are writing a review now since we have not worked together since Jan 2018 (1.5+ years ago). My office strives for client satisfaction and continues to be a valuable resource for the community in family, criminal, and civil law. I am sorry that you have a negative opinion of what my staff and I accomplished in your case. I'd like to address some of your feedback directly. First, you did not spend "thousands of dollars" at my office; your total bill was $1,710 and I refunded the balance of your retainer. Next, for the modest billing for my legal services, I successfully registered an interstate support order, assisted with the out-of-state support issues and related legal services. Finally, I responded to all of your questions and made time to speak with you in and outside of working hours to suit your schedule, even for issues unrelated to the case at hand. Your characterization of our interaction and end result is simply untrue. I wish you all the best. -Gaurav
"Mr. Bali clearly cares deeply about his clients and making sure they get the best representation possible!"
"I have known Mr. Bali for a number of years. I have referred criminal law cases to him, and have heard him praised for his work on behalf of his clients. Mr. Bali represents his clients with knowledge, vigor and passion, and has their best interest in mind at all times representing them."
Family lawyer
2012
Academic Excellence - Evidence, Dean of LLS
2011 - Present
Owner, Bali Law Offices
2012 - Present
Los Angeles County Bar AssociationMember
2011 - Present
Alameda County Bar AssociationCourt Appointed Attorney
2011 - Present
Alameda County Bar AssociationGuardianship Clinic Volunteer
Not Guilty
Not Guilty
Case Dismissed
N/A
JD - Juris Doctor
N/A
BA - Bachelor of Arts
2013
Real Estate & Family Law
2021
2021
English
Hindi
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