Competition and regulation

AVL Abogados is a pioneering firm in Competition and Regulation Law

To provide proper advice, it is not enough to know the law; one must also understand how competitive forces operate in each market. Therefore, our interdisciplinary team, consisting of expert lawyers, combines a deep understanding of both economics and law in its practice.

We take pride in offering a highly personalized approach for each client, understanding that each case presents unique challenges. Our methodology is based on a meticulous analysis and detailed strategic planning, ensuring that our actions not only meet legal objectives but also promote the growth and competitiveness of our clients in the market.

In a constantly evolving legal and market environment, our team stays at the forefront by continuously updating its knowledge and skills. We employ the latest technologies and analytical methodologies to provide solutions that are not only legal but also based on economics and are also practical, benefiting our clients in the long term.

Commitment to Ethics and Transparency: We are guided by the highest standards of ethics and transparency in all our actions, ensuring that our practices are both legally and morally responsible.

We support our clients through critical moments, from preventing anti-competitive behavior with the implementation of compliance programs to advising on administrative and judicial investigative processes in highly complex cases, including:

  • Antitrust Investigations: We have successfully defended companies in antitrust investigations, achieving favorable resolutions that have protected their market position.

  • Mergers and Acquisitions: We provide comprehensive advice on mergers and acquisitions, ensuring compliance with competition regulations and maximizing the strategic value of each transaction.

  • Restrictive Trade Practices: We advise our clients on how to avoid practices that may be considered restrictive, helping them design policies and agreements that promote fair competition.

  • Litigation and Dispute Resolution: We represent our clients in complex litigation before regulatory authorities and courts, defending their interests with rigor and precision.
Competencia description

Our team of lawyers has extensive knowledge and experience in competition law.

We navigate the complex local and international laws and regulations with ease and identify potential practices that may be considered abusive and need to be avoided. To achieve this, we combine a multidisciplinary understanding of the markets with over a decade of experience advising our clients in investigative processes before the Ecuadorian competition authority across various industries.

We stand out for our economic analysis capabilities, which allow us to assess the impact of commercial practices on competition and the market, and to develop solid arguments supported by experts in economics.

Additionally, the AVL Abogados team has proven experience in litigation and strategic advising, which enables us to represent our clients effectively in both administrative and judicial proceedings.

Our ability to communicate clearly and effectively sets us apart, allowing us to explain complex legal concepts understandably for our clients and other stakeholders. Additionally, we are experts in negotiation, which helps us reach beneficial agreements with competition authorities, counterparties, and other relevant parties. Our innovative and adaptable approach enables us to develop effective legal strategies that align with changing market dynamics and competition laws.

In our team, we value diversity and foster a spirit of collaboration, which gives us the ability to offer creative and effective visions to solve problems and achieve our clients’ objectives together.

Learn About Our Firm's Notable Cases.

  • We successfully advised a national trade association in one of the major cartel cases involving alleged agreements between its members, achieving a dismissal and overturned the initiation of a formal investigation.

  • Provided advice to a pharmaceutical laboratory on its entire agency, distribution, and pricing scheme for products in Ecuador, including discounts, ensuring compliance with competition regulations, and avoiding discriminatory or predatory practices.

  • Advised a pharmaceutical laboratory on its discount scheme for products in Ecuador, ensuring compliance with competition regulations and avoiding discriminatory or predatory practices.

  • Advised a pharmaceutical company in an investigation initiated by the competition authority regarding an alleged refusal to supply products to state hospitals.

  • Advised a pharmaceutical laboratory on challenging ceiling prices imposed by the regulator on certain medications due to alleged competition distortions.

  • Provided advice to pharmaceutical laboratories on unfair competition from another laboratory that obtained sanitary registrations irregularly. This case involved several constitutional and administrative actions, resulting in the cancellation of the anomalous sanitary registrations.

  • Advised leading pharmacy chains in Ecuador on investigation processes regarding allegations of price discrimination and exclusive distribution.

  • Ongoing competition advice to an industrial gas producer.

  • Ongoing competition advice to one of the leading players in the food and beverage market in Ecuador.

  • Advised a poultry producers’ association in creating internal competition policies.

  • Represented companies in dozens of investigation procedures conducted by the Ecuadorian competition authority for abusive practices and restrictive agreements in the pharmaceutical, automotive, cement, distribution, insurance, and software industries, particularly focusing on collusive conduct, price fixing, essential facilities, and refusal to supply.

  • Consultancy for the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on the state of competition and regulation in the energy, gas, telecommunications, postal services, transportation, and water industries in Ecuador.

  • Obtained prior authorizations for mergers and acquisitions in the gas, insurance, food, beverage, and pharmaceutical distribution industries.

  • Advised an oil company on market power abuse by a provider of essential facilities.

  • Preventive audit for the leading automotive group in the country on tied sales.

  • Implemented over a dozen preventive audits, training programs, and compliance programs on competition matters in the pharmaceutical, insurance, automotive, gas, cement, telecommunications, food, transportation, and logistics industries, among others.

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Recognitions​

Latin America Guide, 2025

“The AVL Abogados team is able to understand our complex cases and propose practical solutions. They are experts in competition and antitrust matters.”

When is a competition and regulatory lawyer needed?

In today’s dynamic and competitive business world, it is crucial to ensure that clients operate with integrity and in compliance with current regulations. This is important not only when a business is undergoing expansion, merger, or acquisition but also in the day-to-day development of commercial strategies that could influence the market. It’s not just about avoiding penalties but also about protecting a business’s reputation and long-term sustainability.

Therefore, we can summarize the issues as follows:

  • Market power abuse is one of the most investigated behaviors worldwide because it restricts competition, negatively affecting economic efficiency and overall welfare.

  • One of the fundamental premises of this discipline is that economic agents must make their commercial decisions independently. Therefore, they should not contact their competitors to discuss their activities or commercial or economic strategies.

  • Fair competition among competitors, adhering to commercial good faith, is a fundamental premise of a competitive market. Violating this principle can hinder or distort competition, undermining economic efficiency, overall welfare, and consumer rights.

  • Large companies form strategic alliances to maintain high competitiveness in global markets. Competition authorities closely scrutinize these alliances.

What Services Does AVL Provide in This Area?

  • Preventive advisory and audits to evaluate our clients’ commercial practices, aiming to measure, prevent, or eliminate potential contingencies.

  • Definition of relevant markets and determination of market power.

  • Advice on obtaining authorizations from the Superintendence of Economic Competition for “Economic Concentrations” such as mergers, changes of control, asset transfers, common management of companies, etc.

  • Assistance in investigations initiated ex officio, both by competition defense authorities and by industry-specific regulatory bodies.

  • Initiating processes against competitors for anticompetitive practices.

  • Defense in processes instituted against our clients.

  • Advice on actions and appeals in administrative and judicial settings in this area.

  • Advice on legitimate agreements between competitors.

  • Support in designing distribution and pricing strategies.

  • Defense of competition related to intellectual property.

  • Cross-border competition within a specific region or trade agreement.

  • Training for entities on compliance and mitigation related to competition law.

  • Advice in related areas such as strategic sector regulation and consumer rights.

  • Advice on actions for unfair practices and conduct.

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Practice areas

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