The Bicentenary of Chile has been built by different families who have been writing the history of our country, which today is neither new nor old. Families that have influenced and marked civic life through their experience and knowledge, the business world, the culture and idiosyncrasies of a nation that is currently recognized worldwide for its stability, growth and the resources it has.

One of those important families is Palma, who through the legal tradition, dating from 1819, has managed to position itself as one of the leading law firms in the country.

Their heritage started in the nineteenth century, when José Gabriel Palma Villanueva (1794) graduated as a Bachelor of Sagrados Cánones y Leyes of the University of San Felipe, on October 8th, 1817, and graduated as a lawyer two years later, in 1819.

During his career, he served as general auditor of the Army, and then, in 1841, had the important mission of reviewing a project to organize the University of Chile with Andrés Bello and José Miguel De La Barra. Palma Villanueva, in addition, was Vice Chancellor of said University and then Dean of the Faculty of Law and Political Science. His career also led him to be a Deputy, Judge and President of the Supreme Court.

The son of Palma Villanueva also stood out for maintaining and continuing to write the history of the Palma family in the legal world, where José Gabriel Palma Guzmán (lawyer, in 1857) was also president of the Supreme Court, while José Gabriel Palma Rogers (lawyer in 1905) specialized in commercial issues, being one of the authors of the Bankruptcy Law that replaced Book IV of the Commercial Code. He was also Superintendent of Banks and Vice President and Counselor of the Bar Association.

Alfonso Palma Vial (lawyer in 1945) stood out for his contribution in commercial matters and for his career as arbitrator, a position that his son Juan Eduardo Palma Jara maintained. At today’s date, he is senior partner of Palma and a recognized arbitrator on national level.

Palma Jara received the Montenegro award (Universidad de Chile) for being the best graduate of his generation and, after graduating in 1975, he began a brilliant career that has led him to be a respected academic at the University of Chile and one of the most prominent lawyers at national level.

His sons Juan Eduardo Palma Cruzat and Gabriel Palma Cruzat, and his niece Paz Palma Carrasco continue with the bicentennial legal tradition of the family, at the head of the financial, labor and compliance departments, respectively.
With a multi-generational team and a strong vision of the future, integrating this tradition with the most current legal technologies and techniques, Palma becomes one of the leading legal firms in Chile.