Jessica Black

Associate

She/Her/Hers
  • jblack@jfklaw.ca
  • P 250-405-3464
  • C 250-686-2393
  • 816-1175 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC V8W 2E1

Jessica is an associate at the Victoria JFK office cultivating a practice strong in Aboriginal, environmental and administrative law. She joins us after completing an articling term at White Raven Law.

Jessica holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Victoria and is a recipient of the Lucien Ukaliannuk Award. As a Nunavummiut, Jessica brings her extensive lived experience and an inherent understanding of the unique issues faced by communities. She was appointed to the Nunavut Law Society executive as its sole public representative where she served a full 4-year term, and continues her dedication to building a legal profession that is accessible and contributes to the North and its peoples.

Now an alumni of the Jane Glassco Northern Fellowship, Jessica co-authored a collaborative research project investigating options for a Yukon self-governing First Nation’s justice system and providing recommendations for meaningful implementation. Prior to law, her years as a senior justice policy analyst for the Government of Nunavut help inform her strategic analysis and legal skills.

In her spare time, Jessica loves creative pursuits and being outdoors. She particularly enjoys artistic expression, fishing, hiking, cycling, surfing, and using her smoker to make delicacies.

Highlights

  • Researching and preparing materials to assist with litigation at the Supreme Court of BC, and the BC Court of Appeal levels.

  • Representing clients and solving their legal issues in variety of matters at the University of Victoria’s poverty law clinic.

  • Co-presenting at the 2017 Polar Law Symposium on implementing First Nations justice systems.

Publications

Release of Canada’s Budget 2024

On April 16, 2024, Canada released the 2024 federal budget. The theme of Budget 2024 is “Fairness for Every

Supreme Court of Canada decides issues of limitation periods and declaratory relief in Aboriginal and treaty rights cases

Today the Supreme Court of Canada released its unanimous decision in Shot Both Sides v. Canada, 2024 SCC 12, which deals