Profile
Abril Villegas is a Senior Associate at BLP in San José, Costa Rica. Her practice focuses on Dispute Resolution, where she advises companies and financial institutions on the prevention, conciliation, and negotiation of complex disputes, prioritizing early and efficient solutions before resorting to arbitration or litigation. She designs contractual risk management strategies, analyzes potential disputes, and leads conciliation and negotiation processes during pre-contractual and execution stages, as well as domestic and international arbitration proceedings.
From the Dispute Resolution practice, and in coordination with the Energy & Infrastructure and Banking & Finance areas, she handles disputes arising from concession contracts, project financing, and cross-border operations. She has developed expertise in reviewing compliance, liability, and dispute resolution clauses, promoting collaborative approaches for the negotiation and closing of agreements that ensure operational continuity while mitigating regulatory and financial impacts.
Additionally, in collaboration with the corporate practice, she participates in drafting, reviewing, and negotiating complex contracts, ensuring consistency between commercial obligations and the mechanisms for dispute prevention and resolution. Her approach emphasizes compliance, transparency, and preventive contractual sustainability to reduce exposure to future disputes.
- Business Law
- Energy & Infrastructure
- Dispute Resolution
- Banking & Finance
Education
- Columbia University, New York, United States, LL.M. (2024)
- Universidad De La Salle, Costa Rica, Specialization in Registry and Notarial Law (2022)
- American University, Washington D.C., United States, Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration (2021)
- Universidad De La Salle, Costa Rica, Bachelor of Laws (J.D.) (2020)
- Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) & Leiden University, Practical Course in International Arbitration (2022)
- The Hague Academy of International Law, Private International Law (2019)
Languages
- Spanish
- English
- Portuguese
- Costa Rican Bar Association.
- Special Legal Consultant, DC Bar, Washington DC, United States (2024-2025).
- Member of Arbitral Women.
- Member of ICC Costa Rica.
- Member of the Spanish Arbitration Club (Costa Rica since 2019, New York 2023-2024).
- Member of ICDR (Young and International).
- CIArb Member (exam passed in 2023).
- Member of the Latin American Construction Law Association (ALDEC) (2019-2024).
- Former Deputy Secretary of the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) (2023-2024).
- Former Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Legal Sciences of the University of Costa Rica (2022-2024).
- Former Director of the Colegio de Abogados y Abogadas de Costa Rica Journal (2022-2024).
- Former Board Member of the Costa Rican Bar Association (2022-2024).
- “Memoria del XIV Congreso de Arbitraje Internacional” [ICC] (CAI Costa Rica 2023). El Foro, Costa Rican Bar Association, September 13, 2023.
- “Contractual Breach Resulting from COVID-19 Under Costa Rican Law.” IJ Editores, Buenos Aires, Argentina, April 1, 2020.