Dr Dawn
De Coteau.

OUR FOUNDER & MANAGING DIRECTOR

Caribbean perspective. International legal and advisory experience.

Dr Dawn De Coteau is the Founder and Managing Director of EMA Solutions, a Caribbean-based legal practice and strategic consultancy headquartered in Grenada. Her work brings together private client and commercial legal experience, cross-border dispute resolution, government and institutional advisory, and support for internationally connected families and businesses.

EMA Solutions was established more than 20 years ago. Under Dr De Coteau’s leadership, the practice has more recently been restructured and streamlined to focus on its core legal and strategic advisory services, while continuing to provide attentive, client-focused support across the Caribbean and internationally.

Drawing on professional experience across the Caribbean and England and Wales, Dr De Coteau advises individuals, families, businesses, professional organisations and institutions on matters in which personal, commercial, regulatory and jurisdictional considerations intersect.

Professional qualifications and practice

Dr De Coteau has been called to the Bars of England and Wales, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and St Christopher and Nevis. In England and Wales, she practises through her CILEX qualifications and professional authorisations as a Chartered Legal Executive, CILEX Probate Practitioner and CILEX Civil Litigation Practitioner.

Her academic qualifications include a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), a Master of Laws (LLM) with Distinction, a Bachelor of Laws (LLB Hons), a Bachelor of Arts (BA Hons) and the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC). She is a full member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (TEP), a member of the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS), a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) and an accredited civil and commercial mediator.

Practice areas

Dr De Coteau’s areas of practice include trusts and estate planning, contentious probate and inheritance disputes, professional negligence, civil and commercial disputes arising within her substantive practice areas, Court of Protection and mental capacity matters, cross-border estate matters, alternative dispute resolution, and corporate and governance advisory. Her civil litigation work is confined to these specialist substantive areas; she does not offer a general litigation service.

Trusts, estate planning, private client and cross-border disputes

In England and Wales, Dr De Coteau is Consultant Lawyer and Head of Private Client Disputes and Contentious Probate at Culver Law. She also undertakes consultancy work for other law firms on matters within her areas of practice.

Her private client and disputes work includes trusts and estate planning, contentious probate, inheritance and estate disputes, professional negligence claims, challenges to wills and lifetime transactions, executor and trustee disputes, Court of Protection and mental capacity matters, and complex cross-border estates. She advises high-net-worth individuals and families where assets, beneficiaries and competing legal interests span different jurisdictions.

Her approach combines detailed legal analysis with an understanding of the family, financial and practical considerations that can lie behind disputes. She considers negotiation, mediation and other proportionate resolution strategies where appropriate, alongside litigation and advocacy work undertaken in the relevant authorised professional capacity.

Corporate, government and institutional advisory

Dr De Coteau brings more than 30 years of management consultancy experience, having been commissioned over the years by corporate organisations, public-sector bodies and private enterprises. Her work has encompassed strategic planning, organisational development, governance, institutional strengthening and the delivery of complex projects. This longstanding consultancy background complements her legal practice and informs her practical, commercially focused advice.

Through EMA Solutions, Dr De Coteau advises governments, public bodies, businesses and institutions on selected corporate, cross-border, governance and regulatory matters. Her advisory experience includes legislative reform and modernisation, governance and compliance frameworks, maritime and open registry matters, economic and special economic zone development, institutional reform and regulatory strategy.

She has a particular interest in supporting small and developing states as they consider commercially effective, investment-ready frameworks that are legally robust and responsive to international standards and local priorities.

High-net-worth and family office services

Dr De Coteau also advises internationally mobile individuals, high-net-worth families and family offices on selected private client and strategic matters. This work may involve coordinating legal and practical requirements relating to property, relocation, family governance, wealth and succession planning, and the stewardship of family assets across borders, in collaboration with relevant professional advisers.

Dispute resolution and professional leadership

As a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb), a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (FCILEX) and a qualified mediator with dispute-resolution training through ADR Group and CIArb, Dr De Coteau brings substantial practical experience to alternative dispute resolution. She has facilitated several arbitrations and conducted numerous mediations. She serves as Co-Vice President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators’ Caribbean Branch. Explore EMA Solutions’ Alternative Dispute Resolution services.

Dr De Coteau is President of the Marine and Yachting Association of Grenada and previously served as Vice President of the Bar Association of Grenada. These roles reflect her longstanding engagement with the region’s legal, business and maritime communities.

Across her work, she combines regional knowledge, international perspective and practical legal and strategic advice to assist clients navigating issues involving families, businesses, wealth, institutions and multiple jurisdictions.

Community involvement and personal interests

Giving back is an important part of Dr De Coteau’s life. She is committed to volunteering and supporting people and communities in need, particularly in times of disaster. In response to events such as Hurricane Beryl, she mobilises members of the Caribbean diaspora to raise funds for much-needed aid and relief.

Dr De Coteau is happily married, has three children and is a proud grandmother. Outside her professional work, she enjoys travelling, reading and spending quality time with her family.

Qualifications and professional memberships

Dr De Coteau’s personal qualifications and admissions are distinct from the authorisations applicable to each legal services provider. EMA Solutions provides unreserved legal and consultancy services in England and Wales.

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