De Cotta McKenna & Santafé - Official Blog: Sandra Wrightson relocates to De Cotta's Nerja office - Sandra is a Barrister Overseas registered with the...

As we embrace autumn and say goodbye to summer, often one considers more pressing matters that shouldn’t be put off any longer, like getting a Will in Spain; or sorting out that planning issue on your rural property; or reaching an amicable and fair solution in a family dispute.

With all these types of issues, one needs to turn to the expert advice and skills of a lawyer. De Cotta McKenna & Santafé Law Firm is an established part of the Nerja community and this month we see some positive enhancements to the team.

Sandra Wrightson, a Barrister Overseas registered with the Bar Council of England and Wales, and partner at De Cotta McKenna & Santafé, has rejoined the Nerja office from Mijas, further strengthening the team of English legal talent in the office and providing a friendly, approachable contact for new and existing foreign national and ex-patriot clients.

Sandra came to Spain in 1987 and lived in Competa for eight years; so Nerja has always been an important part of her family life, from nipping into town to buy The Times, to going to church, or getting her sons on the school bus to Almuñecar. 

Sandra went to the UK in 1996 when she was called to the Bar and came back to Spain in 1997 and joined De Cotta McKenna & Santafé as an academic barrister advising on all aspects of private international law. With over 10 years experience working in Spain, she now regularly advises on all aspects of private International Law, Timeshare and Family Law. All of the Spanish legal advice is given by De Cotta’s highly experienced abogado team, but Sandra and her team enjoy meeting future and existing clients, and providing a friendly and successful English speaking service.

Sandra enjoyed setting up the Nerja office originally, and now the office has since expanded to incorporate three Spanish lawyers. Since Rob Westwater has created and grown the Granada/Lecrin office, it created the perfect opportunity for De Cotta’s English legal services to be driven by a new partner based in the Nerja office.

“It’s a pleasure to be back in Nerja, as I have such fond memories of this seaside town and its people” comments Sandra. She continues, “The boys have grown up and left home and my husband and I have been living in the countryside, near Teba and I’ve been working at our Mijas Costa office.  So it’s wonderful to be back in Nerja and meet our clients here.”

Sandra works closely with Reyes Gomez Llorente, Spanish Abogada based in the Nerja office – the both of them do much of the family work in the firm and will continue to work together in this area as well as in litigation matters. Sandra also works with Francisco Martin who has developed a very successful practice in Nerja in conveyancing and property matters such as building disputes and planning.

The De Cotta office also boasts a new Danish lawyer, Thomas Gant is now able to expand the firm’s services into the Danish community; he is tri-lingual in Spanish, Danish and English!

The Nerja office continues to be a very friendly environment for clients to pop in for a consultation and advice.  The helpful, bi-lingual administrative team includes Naomi and Helene.

Helene is from the west coast of Scotland, and moved to Nerja some years ago, and joined De Cotta in 2005. Helene is one of the local administrators as well as being the Personal Injury administrator, assisting the lawyers across all the offices. She enjoys outdoor activities and as an animal lover has assisted as a volunteer with CAS and the Donkey Sanctuary over the years.

Naomi is a very established member of the team, having joined the firm in 2002.  In addition to her role as client liaison, Naomi also assists with the preparation of wills and powers of attorney. She is married to a Spaniard, Oscar and they have a daughter Miriam aged 11.  Naomi is also an aerobics instructor and holds Saturday classes for mature ladies in Nerja in the winter months. Naomi is also helping to organise the De Cotta Law sponsored Christmas Carol Service on Sunday December 19th at 4pm, at Iglesia de San Miguel (St Michael’s Church) in Plaza Andalucía, Nerja. 

Sandra Wrightson is a Barrister Overseas registered with the Bar Council of England and Wales, and partner at De Cotta McKenna & Santafé, a law firm offering support with all aspects of Spanish Law for English speaking clients. Sandra heads the Nerja team, located at:

Additional offices in Mijas-Costa, Coín, Granada and Tenerife.