Labour and Employment – Chambers and Partners Latin America
Karla Villacís Echeverría is an attorney from the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, with a postgraduate degree in Management from the Tecnológico de Monterrey. She is a founding partner of Lexvalor Abogados, a firm she joined in 2005 after developing her professional career at prestigious companies in the real estate sector and prominent law firms in Quito.
She heads the Labor Law practice area, co-leads the Real Estate Law practice, and is also involved in the Corporate Law practice area alongside other partners.
Karla has extensive experience in providing legal counsel to multinational and national companies in the corporate, labor, and real estate fields.
With over 20 years of experience in managing wealth and real estate structuring, civil and labor contracting schemes, occupational risk management, and social security and occupational health matters, she possesses a deep understanding of business and labor risk. Her expertise also extends to strategic management and compliance in contracting and labor relations, expatriation of workers, collective bargaining, and a remarkable track record in labor litigation across the entire country. Additionally, she offers corporate legal advice to companies, coordinating with LATAM regional offices and international headquarters.
Karla chairs the Ecuadorian Labor Lawyers Circle, is a member of the Latin American Network of Lawyers representing Ecuador, and has been a faculty member at the Universidad de los Hemisferios in the Postgraduate Specialization in Compliance.
She regularly delivers courses and participates in seminars and conferences, actively engaging in the field with publications, talks, forums, and interviews as a leading woman in the labor legal field. Her leadership in labor and real estate law has been widely recognized by several prestigious international publishers.
Karla is co-author of the chapter “Ecuador” in the book Privacy Law: A Global Legal Perspective on Data Protection Relating to Advertising and Marketing by the Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance.
She heads the Labor Law practice area, co-leads the Real Estate Law practice, and is also involved in the Corporate Law practice area alongside other partners.
Karla has extensive experience in providing legal counsel to multinational and national companies in the corporate, labor, and real estate fields.
With over 20 years of experience in managing wealth and real estate structuring, civil and labor contracting schemes, occupational risk management, and social security and occupational health matters, she possesses a deep understanding of business and labor risk. Her expertise also extends to strategic management and compliance in contracting and labor relations, expatriation of workers, collective bargaining, and a remarkable track record in labor litigation across the entire country. Additionally, she offers corporate legal advice to companies, coordinating with LATAM regional offices and international headquarters.
Karla chairs the Ecuadorian Labor Lawyers Circle, is a member of the Latin American Network of Lawyers representing Ecuador, and has been a faculty member at the Universidad de los Hemisferios in the Postgraduate Specialization in Compliance.
She regularly delivers courses and participates in seminars and conferences, actively engaging in the field with publications, talks, forums, and interviews as a leading woman in the labor legal field. Her leadership in labor and real estate law has been widely recognized by several prestigious international publishers.
Karla is co-author of the chapter “Ecuador” in the book Privacy Law: A Global Legal Perspective on Data Protection Relating to Advertising and Marketing by the Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance.
Additional information
Academic Training:
1. Advanced legal English conversation and writing course, Nassau Community College, Long Island, New York, 2001
2. Law degree, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, 2005
3. Advanced Diploma in Management, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico, 2011
4. Master’s Candidate, Master in Business Administration, Universidad San Francisco de Quito.Professional Experience:
1. Legal advisor at the Provivienda and the Inmobiliaria La Coruña real estate companies, 2001–2003
2. Legal advisor, Gonzalo Córdova Abogados Law Firm, 2003–2005Memberships:
1. International Bar Association
2. Latin American Network of Labor Lawyers (Red Latinoamericana de Abogados Laboralistas)
3. President of the Ecuadorian Labor Lawyers Circle (Círculo de Abogados Laboralistas del Ecuador)
Recognitions
Insight Lexvalor
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A strong practice. Recognition that goes beyond.
We are pleased to share that Chambers and Partners Latin America 2027 has recognised Lexvalor Abogados across 8 practice areas, with 16 individual rankings, reaffirming our position among the most highly regarded law firms in the Ecuadorian legal market. In this edition, our practice areas…
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Chambers and Partners Global 2026 Results
We are pleased to share the results obtained by Lexvalor Abogados in the latest Chambers and Partners Global 2026 research, where we have been recognized across all practice areas currently evaluated by this prestigious publisher. Recognized Practice Areas: Banking and Finance – Band 2 Corporate…
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Lexvalor Abogados Recognized as Ecuador Tax Firm of the Year 2025 by ITR
In recent days, our firm was recognized as Ecuador Tax Firm of the Year 2025 at the ITR Americas Tax Awards, an honor that distinguishes the leading firms in tax advisory services across the region. This recognition reflects the commitment, technical excellence, and experience of…