A native of Guatemala, María del Pilar Bonilla's own research interests are in the area of civil and commercial law and law and economics. She earned her law degree magna cum laude from the Universidad Francisco Marroquín, where she teaches notarial and civil law. She earned both a master's in law degree and a doctor of laws degree with honours from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. She is a research fellow with the Fundación para el Desarrollo de Guatemala.