Divergent Law Opens in Ecuador

Paúl Peña is a graduate in corporate law from the Pontificia Universidad Católica in Quito, and with a specialization in administrative law from the Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar, which is also located in Quito. He is a pioneering lawyer in the establishment of migratory law as a specialist practice, and which is one of the areas in which Divergent specializes.

He has more than 15 years’ experience working in human resources, labor, tax and customs law in multinational companies, as well as in telecommunications law, advising companies on regulatory changes in that sector, and on digital transformation.

He has advised on significant transactions in the telecoms sector and in the negotiation of concessions between the Ecuadorian government and private players, and has also advised clients in the oil and gas, technology, insurance and food and drink sectors.

María-Belén Rivadeneira has more than 10 years’ experience in intellectual property (IP) law, as well as administrative, antitrust and corporate law, and she holds a law degree with a specialization in IP from the Universidad Internacional SEK in Quito and an LLM in law and economics with a specialization in antitrust law from the Utrecht Universiteit in the Netherlands.

She has been recognized for her performance in international legal directories such as Chambers & Partners and by Leaders League and has represented clients in the foods, pharmaceutical, textile, automotive, telecoms, real estate and art, education and entertainment industries.

Divergent caters to clients across multiple sectors, such as IP, migratory law, healthcare, real estate, and telecommunications, as well as providing accounting and payroll services, the drawing up of civil and mercantile contracts, the processing of permit requests and notary services, among others.

Furthermore, the firm places particular emphasis on providing collective benefits by offering pro bono work and moving the firm away from the traditional, profit-driven business model toward a more socially aware and responsible way of working to provide benefits to the local community.