Who We Are
JFK Law is Canada’s only national law firm covering the full landscape of Aboriginal and Indigenous law. We are driven to fight for our clients’ rights in court; to build alongside them in governance and legislation; and to help create lasting wealth for their communities.
JFK Law
We are proud to have built a unique team that combines the foremost litigators in Aboriginal Law, with renowned practitioners in Aboriginal and Indigenous Law in the practice of nation building. In our experience, this combined expertise in litigation, nation building, and wealth creation – delivered with an unwavering commitment to moving nations forward – provides Indigenous governments and organizations with the right support to meet today’s challenges and opportunities.
Grounding all our work is our fierce commitment to our clients. We know that nation building means first building relationships. It means humbly working with our clients to understand their unique histories, to see their unique opportunities, and then to put in the work – over years and sometimes decades – to help them move forward in the best way for their communities.
Our Team
We are deeply committed to pursuing justice and self-determination for Indigenous peoples.
In our work we value:
Relentless pursuit of justice
We choose this work because it matters, not because it’s easy.
Legal excellence
Our clients’ work demands the highest standard of legal thinking, and we hold ourselves to it.
Listening, humility, curiosity
We are here to serve, and that begins with listening.
Creativity and innovation
This work requires going beyond conventional borders and boundaries.
Walking with you
We stand alongside our clients through the wins and the setbacks, knowing this work is for generations to come.
Our TRC Response
JFK’s accomplished team of legal professionals strive to advance reconciliation and justice for Indigenous peoples across Canada through our work for Indigenous clients, which includes litigation and dispute resolution, complex negotiations, economic development and governance, or consultation, accommodation and regulatory review.
While fortunate that our daily work is directly tied to the imperative of reconciliation, we recognize that meaningful reconciliation requires us to go further as individuals and as an organization. It also involves taking steps towards internal improvement and recognition of the negative role that law has played and the different role it can play going forward.
From the Start
JFK Law began in 2009 when five lawyers, including the founding partners Robert Janes, Rosanne Kyle and Bob Freedman, left a leading law firm when the firm’s oil-and-gas work sat in tension with the interests of its Indigenous clients. Originally named Janes Freedman Kyle Law Corporation, they set out to build something different: a firm where Indigenous nations would receive legal counsel without conflict or compromise. In time the name gave way to JFK Law, chosen with the knowledge that partners would one day leave, retire, or pass on, but the firm and its purpose would carry forward.
From those roots grew two areas of practice that still define the firm: fierce litigation to advance and defend Indigenous rights in court, and the nation building and governance work needed to turn those wins into lasting structures. Treaty work became the bridge between the two, translating hard-won rights into the frameworks nations need to govern and thrive.
What began as a small regional boutique has today become a truly national firm, broadening over the years in the number of lawyers, practice areas, and reach across the country.
Build a Career That Matters
Are you a lawyer or legal professional with a passion for working for Indigenous Nations, governments, and organizations?
Are you looking for a collaborative, non-competitive but driven team environment that demands a combination of legal excellence, creative thinking, and humility?
Are you looking to make a difference with your legal career?
At JFK Law, you will work at the leading edge of Aboriginal and Indigenous law, on litigation that reaches the highest courts and the nation building work that turns hard-won rights into lasting structures.
If you are interested in joining our team, please send a cover letter and resume to HR@jfklaw.ca and we will review your materials. For specific postings listed below, please follow the associated links rather than sending your application by email. Please do not send your application materials directly to individual lawyers as our application system is centralized.
We are currently hiring for the following positions:
Lawyers
Senior Negotiation and Governance Associate
We are seeking a full-time associate to assist the JFK Partners, senior counsel, and senior associates to represent Indigenous clients in negotiations, decision-making, jurisdictional assertions, and governance matters.
Senior Litigation Associate
The primary focus of the Associate is expected to be related to Aboriginal law, including Aboriginal and Treaty Rights, consultation and accommodation, and issues related to reserve and Aboriginal title lands, and Indigenous self-determination and jurisdiction. The Associate may also be involved in regulatory proceedings and other public law litigation, including constitutional, administrative, and municipal law matters.
Litigation Associate
The primary focus of the Associate is expected to be related to Aboriginal law, including Aboriginal and Treaty Rights, consultation and accommodation, and issues related to reserve and Aboriginal title lands, and Indigenous self-determination and jurisdiction. The Associate may also be involved in regulatory proceedings and other public law litigation, including constitutional, administrative, and municipal law matters.
Students
Support
Moving Forward Together
How does your Nation, community or organization need or want to move forward? We’re here to listen.