How I Work

Gurpreet S. Bal · Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP, Silicon Valley · gurpreetbal.com

I advise technology companies, founders, and investors on corporate and securities matters across the full company lifecycle — from formation and venture financings through governance, growth, and liquidity events.

My practice is centered in Silicon Valley, where I work with companies and investors on complex financings, mergers and acquisitions, and governance matters. At the same time, I regularly advise clients with operations, talent, or capital across California more broadly.

I tend to approach this work with a few consistent priorities:

• Business and financial perspective. Having started my career as a Big Four accountant, I bring a business and financial lens to legal advice. This helps me connect legal structures to their real economic and operational impact for founders, boards, and investors.
• Clarity over volume. I focus on the issues and structures that meaningfully affect outcomes rather than trying to cover every contingency.
• Long-term company and board perspective. Even in high-stakes, multi-party transactions, I keep the longer-term interests of the company and its leadership in view.
• Cross-border and multi-jurisdictional fluency. A meaningful part of my practice involves companies and investors whose footprints, teams, or capital cross state and national borders.
• Governance that supports growth. I help founders and boards build governance practices that scale with the company instead of creating unnecessary friction.
• Thoughtful use of technology and AI. I use AI tools to handle routine drafting, research, and iteration so I can focus my time on high-value strategic work, complex judgment, and direct client communication rather than administrative tasks.

I believe strong legal advice in this space combines technical precision with practical judgment about how decisions play out over multiple rounds and years. My goal is to give clients clear options and the context needed to make decisions that serve the company's trajectory.