Pape Salter Teillet LLP further expands Aboriginal and Treaty rights leadership with the addition of Jesse McCormick as Senior Counsel
with the addition of Jesse McCormick as Senior Counsel. – Photo supplied
TORONTO (February 10, 2026) – Jesse McCormick has joined Pape Salter Teillet LLP as Senior Counsel, bringing his expertise in the protection of Aboriginal and Treaty rights, regulatory matters, economic participation, and governance to Canada’s leading firm specializing in Indigenous rights law.
“Through his career, Jesse has made important contributions to the recognition and protection of Indigenous rights in Canada and internationally. He has represented First Nations clients across the country in regulatory proceedings and helped to shape federal law as a senior political advisor. Jesse has championed First Nations economic participation in major project developments both in private practice and as a senior executive at the First Nations Major Projects Coalition,” said Nuri Frame, Pape Salter Teillet LLP Managing Partner. “We are pleased to welcome Jesse to Pape Salter Teillet. Our clients and our existing team will benefit from his wide-ranging experience.”
Prior to joining Pape Salter Teillet LLP, Jesse served as Senior Vice-President of Research, Innovation, and Legal Affairs at the First Nations Major Projects Coalition, where he advanced First Nations regulatory and economic participation in major projects. Earlier in his career, Jesse served as the Director of Policy and Indigenous Relations for the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and the Director of Rights Implementation for the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. In those roles, he helped to reform Canada’s environmental assessment processes and develop the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
He also served as a Senior Indigenous Fellow in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and a Law Clerk to a judge of the Federal Court of Canada and the Administrative Tribunal of the International Labour Organization. He is a frequent speaker on First Nations legal matters, impact assessment, and has a history of building strong relationships between First Nations and major project proponents.
He is a proud citizen of Canada, Chippewas of the Thames First Nation within the Anishinabek Nation, and the Oneida Nation (Wolf Clan), and is committed to the achievement of reconciliation through the implementation of rights, treaties, and responsibilities.
Pape Salter Teillet LLP
Pape Salter Teillet LLP has helped contribute to defining and affirming Indigenous rights, beginning in 1980. Everything the firm does today draws on this legacy of experience and focus on representing Indigenous peoples. The firm was recently named the 2026 Law firm of the Year for Aboriginal Law/Indigenous Practice by the Best Law Firms in Canada.