Practice Areas
With a strong foundation in corporate advisory, Karla has provided counsel to companies across a wide range of industries. She draws on her corporate expertise to lead clients through high-stakes arbitration and civil and commercial litigation across multiple jurisdictions.
Karla is an attorney at Coronel & Pérez. Her practice focuses on corporate, contract, and tax law, as well as complex dispute resolution. Her dispute resolution practice includes national and international commercial arbitration, as well as litigation in civil, administrative, and tax matters. She has advised clients in key sectors such as oil and gas, telecommunications, retail, construction, and agricultural exports, and has notable experience in tax structuring and compliance.
Karla earned her law degree Magna Cum Laude from Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo (UEES).
Karla is an attorney at Coronel & Pérez. Her practice focuses on corporate, contract, and tax law, as well as complex dispute resolution. Her dispute resolution practice includes national and international commercial arbitration, as well as litigation in civil, administrative, and tax matters. She has advised clients in key sectors such as oil and gas, telecommunications, retail, construction, and agricultural exports, and has notable experience in tax structuring and compliance.
Karla earned her law degree Magna Cum Laude from Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo (UEES).
Experience
Karla began her career at a law firm specializing in real estate transactions and municipal regulations. She later worked as in-house counsel for a multinational company developing low-income housing projects, and for a construction company dedicated to corporate architectural developments.. Before joining Coronel & Pérez, she was part of a leading Guayaquil-based law firm known for its corporate and tax advisory practice.
Her professional experience includes:
Corporate Law
Member of the legal team advising a multinational oilfield services company on contractual matters.
Member of the legal team advising a multinational banana exporter on contractual, labor, and regulatory matters.
Member of the legal team advising a multinational glass industry company on contractual, labor, and regulatory matters
Supported a retail company through a corporate restructuring process
Participated in structuring trusts for a real estate development project on behalf of a multinational client.
Assisted a multinational logistics operator in launching its operations in Ecuador
Arbitration and Litigation
Member of the legal team that represented a Spanish pharmaceutical company in an international arbitration under ICC rules, seated in Miami, Florida (USA), concerning the termination of a licensing agreement with its Ecuadorian agent, as well as in a related civil proceeding initiated in Ecuador.
Member of the legal team that represented a multinational mining company in an ICC arbitration seated in Paris (France), concerning a contractual dispute with the state-owned mining company and the Republic of Ecuador.
Member of the legal team that represented an educational institution in a tort dispute concerning acts of unfair competition.
Member of the legal team that represented a distribution company in multiple tax litigation proceedings against the Internal Revenue Service (SRI), involving challenges to Special Consumption Tax (ICE) assessments
Assisted in the preparation of expert reports for ICC-administered arbitrations initiated by a Spanish construction company against an Ecuadorian municipality.
Member of the legal team that represented a construction company in an arbitration administered by the Arbitration and Conciliation Center of the Guayaquil Chamber of Commerce (Ecuador), in a contractual dispute.
Member of the legal team that represented a multinational telecommunications company in an arbitration administered by the Arbitration and Conciliation Center of the Guayaquil Chamber of Commerce (Ecuador), in a contractual dispute.
Assisted a French company through litigation proceedings challenging audit findings issued by the Office of the Comptroller General of Ecuador
Assisted a local engineering company through litigation proceedings challenging unilateral contract termination decisions issued by a state-owned oil company.
Credentials
Memberships
Member of Foro de Abogados del Ecuador (2024).
Member of:
Academic Career
Career
Education
Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo; Law Degree (2024), Magna cum laude.
Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina; International Arbitration Course (2023)
Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo; Intellectual Property Diploma (2022).
Languages
Spanish
English
Awards
Academic Excellence Scholarship recipient, Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo (2020–2024).
Dean’s List honoree, Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo (2023)
Oralist on the Winning Team of the 13th National Arbitration Moot Competition, organized by the Arbitration and Mediation Center of AMCHAM Quito, Ecuador (2024)
Teaching Assistant in Civil Law, Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo (2022–2024).
Publications
El kompetenz-kompetenz en el derecho comparado: un lindero desdibujado, Instituto Ecuatoriano de Arbitraje, (online), 2023
Las consecuencias de la ilegalidad de una inversión, a la luz del caso Worley c. Ecuador, Instituto Ecuatoriano de Arbitraje, (online), 2024 (co-authored with Carlos Correa)
La segunda es la vencida: Comentarios sobre la apelación en el arbitraje internacional, (online), 2025 (co-authored with Carlos Correa)
Siguiendo el ‘camino amarillo’ para ejecutar un laudo extranjero en Ecuador. Comentarios y reflexiones a propósito de la Sentencia 3232-19-EP/24 y el procedimiento de ejecución, Revista Ecuatoriana de Arbitraje, (online), 2025 (co-authored with Carlos Correa)