The boutique firm has hired Jesse McCormick, who helped develop the UNDRIP Act
Pape Salter Teillet LLP, which specializes in advising Indigenous nations and communities, announced Tuesday that Jesse McCormick has joined the firm as senior counsel.
McCormick recently served as a senior executive at the First Nations Major Projects Coalition, a nonprofit that aims to increase Indigenous groups’ regulatory and economic participation in developments on their land. He previously helped develop the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, the landmark 2021 law that offers a framework for reconciliation in Canada.
Nuri Frame, managing partner at the firm, told Canadian Lawyer on Tuesday that he views McCormick’s hire as a “critical piece of our growth strategy.
“Jesse brings a ton of wisdom and a ton of experience on cutting-edge issues like UNDRIP, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, and on economic reconciliation and on supporting nations as they engage with major projects – be those energy or mining or otherwise in their traditional territories,” Frame says.
“That experience, coupled with his deep roots in Ottawa and his familiarity with the inner workings of government… really positions him to help support our existing clients navigate an increasingly complex and changing environment and also helps position the firm to really continue its growth trajectory in the years to come,” Frame adds.
McCormick will work primarily with Pape Salter Teillet’s Toronto office, but will be based remotely near Kamloops, BC. The firm also has an office in Vancouver.
Before joining the First Nations Major Projects Coalition in 2022, McCormick held director roles with the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, during which he helped reform Canada’s environment assessment processes in addition to developing the UNDRIP Act.
He is a member of the Anishinabek Nation and the Oneida Nation.
“We’re absolutely delighted that Jesse has joined the firm,” Frame says. “We’ve known Jesse and known about Jesse for a long time. He’s got a tremendous reputation in the field for his work as a lawyer for Indigenous nations.”
