About Pape Salter Teillet LLP

Pape Salter Teillet LLP traces back to 1980, when it started as Pape & Salter, one of the first firms in Canada built exclusively around representing Indigenous peoples. Its founders, Rick Salter and Art Pape, were childhood friends who grew up in Toronto and found a shared interest in social justice. Rick had been part of Students for a Democratic Society, and Art had led peace and anti-nuclear organizing. Both went on to work with the Company of Young Canadians in Indigenous communities, alongside figures such as Harold Cardinal, before enrolling in law school at the University of British Columbia and founding the firm soon after. Art Pape died in 2012 and Rick Salter in 2021.

Métis lawyer Jean Teillet joined in 1994, and the firm was renamed Pape Salter Teillet when Jean Teillet made partner in 2005. Now more than 45 years old, the firm works from offices in Toronto and Vancouver on behalf of Indigenous Nations across the country, in rights litigation, land and resource protection, economic development agreements, government-to-government negotiation, and treaty and governance work. It has acted as counsel or intervenor in nearly every major Indigenous rights case to reach the Supreme Court of Canada since the 1980s, and Chambers and Partners ranks it in Band 2 nationally for Aboriginal Law. Best Law Firms in Canada named it its 2026 Law Firm of the Year for Aboriginal Law/Indigenous Practice.

Practice areas

Indigenous Law Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution Business & Corporate Law Administrative & Regulatory Law

Milestones & recognition

  • Founded in 1980 as Pape & Salter by Rick Salter and Art Pape, one of the first Canadian firms built exclusively around representing Indigenous peoples.
  • Jean Teillet joined the firm in 1994 and the firm was renamed Pape Salter Teillet when Jean Teillet made partner in 2005.
  • The firm has appeared as counsel or intervenor in nearly every major Indigenous rights case to reach the Supreme Court of Canada since the 1980s, including Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation v South Bruce Peninsula, which confirmed First Nation ownership of Sauble Beach, and First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun v Yukon on Crown treaty obligations.
  • Ranked Band 2 nationally for Aboriginal Law, Representation of Indigenous Peoples by Chambers and Partners.
  • Named 2026 Law Firm of the Year, Aboriginal Law/Indigenous Practice, by Best Law Firms in Canada.
  • Counsel Emeritus Jean Teillet holds the Order of the Métis Nation and the Meritorious Service Cross from the Governor General of Canada, along with honorary doctorates from the University of Guelph, the University of Windsor, and the Law Society of Ontario, and appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada in twelve separate Indigenous rights cases over a legal career spent litigating Indigenous rights.

In the community

  • Jean Teillet, now the firm's Counsel Emeritus, served for years as legal counsel to midwives associations and to the Women of the Métis Nation on women's rights issues, and worked as chief negotiator and treaty advisor for the Stó:lō Xwexwílmexw Treaty Association from 2007 to 2022.
  • Jean Teillet has written several books on Métis history and rights, including The North-West is Our Mother: The Story of Louis Riel's People, the Métis Nation (HarperCollins, 2019).

Good to know

A person using a wheelchairWheelchair accessible

Lawyers 27

Abigail Green Associate Indigenous Law Alex Monem Partner Indigenous LawAdministrative & Regulatory Law Amelia Harman Associate Indigenous Law Andrew Bonnell Senior Associate Indigenous LawBusiness & Corporate Law Audrey Axten Associate Indigenous Law Brendan Bachand Senior Associate Indigenous Law Colin Jesse Salter Partner Indigenous LawTax Law Conner Sipa Associate Indigenous Law David Hillier Associate Indigenous LawAdministrative & Regulatory Law Enid Gibney Senior Associate Indigenous Law Jacqueline Burke Senior Associate Indigenous LawAdministrative & Regulatory Law Jesse McCormick Senior Counsel Indigenous LawAdministrative & Regulatory Law Jonah Dutz Associate Indigenous Law Lillianne Cadieux-Shaw Associate Indigenous LawCivil Litigation & Dispute Resolution Marc Gibson Senior Associate Indigenous Law Michael Templeton Senior Counsel Indigenous LawBusiness & Corporate Law Nuri G. Frame Managing Partner Indigenous LawCivil Litigation & Dispute Resolution Olivier Jarda Associate Indigenous LawFamily Law Paul Bachand Partner Indigenous Law Randall Kahgee Senior Counsel Indigenous Law Riley Weyman Senior Associate Indigenous LawAdministrative & Regulatory Law Sam Muise Associate Indigenous LawBusiness & Corporate Law Sana Fatima Associate Indigenous Law Sara Rohani Senior Associate Indigenous Law

This firm’s lawyers at a glance

Called to the bar
1990 · median 36 years in practice 1 of 27 lawyers
Law schools
Osgoode Hall Law School (6), Dalhousie University (4), University of Ottawa (4), University of Toronto (4), McGill University (2), University of Calgary (2) and 4 more 27 of 27 lawyers

Who handles what

Offices 2

Toronto416-916-2989

546 Euclid Avenue, Toronto, ON M6G 2T2, Canada

Vancouver604-681-3002

595 Burrard Street, P.O. Box 48146, Bentall, Vancouver, BC V7Z 1N8, Canada

The neighbourhood

The firm's Toronto office is at 546 Euclid Avenue, a residential street setting rather than a Bay Street tower, in keeping with a firm that grew out of grassroots activism rather than a conventional corporate practice.

The Vancouver office is in Three Bentall Centre on Burrard Street, a 32-storey tower completed in 1974 that anchors the Bentall Centre complex in the heart of the downtown financial district, connected directly to Burrard SkyTrain station.

Frequently asked questions

What kind of law does Pape Salter Teillet practice?
The firm practices exclusively in Indigenous law, covering rights litigation and dispute resolution, land and resource protection, economic development agreements, negotiations with federal, provincial, and municipal governments, and treaty and governance work.
Does Pape Salter Teillet only work with clients in Ontario and British Columbia?
No. The firm partners with Indigenous Nations across Canada from its Toronto and Vancouver offices, and its lawyers are admitted to the bar in provinces and territories including Alberta, the Northwest Territories, Ontario, Quebec, and Yukon.
How long has Pape Salter Teillet been practising Indigenous law?
The firm was founded in 1980 as Pape & Salter, one of the first Canadian firms built exclusively around representing Indigenous peoples, and it's now more than 45 years old.
Has Pape Salter Teillet argued cases at the Supreme Court of Canada?
Yes. The firm has acted as counsel or intervenor in nearly every major Indigenous rights case to reach the Supreme Court of Canada since the 1980s, including Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation v South Bruce Peninsula, which confirmed First Nation ownership of Sauble Beach.
Where are Pape Salter Teillet's offices located?
The firm has offices at 546 Euclid Avenue in Toronto and at 595 Burrard Street (Three Bentall Centre) in downtown Vancouver.
Who is Jean Teillet?
Jean Teillet is the firm's Counsel Emeritus. A Métis lawyer who joined the firm in 1994 and made partner in 2005 (when the firm took the name Pape Salter Teillet), Jean Teillet appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada in twelve separate Indigenous rights cases and wrote The North-West is Our Mother: The Story of Louis Riel's People, the Métis Nation.

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Listing compiled from the firm’s public website in August 2026. Verify licence status in the Law Society of Ontario directory ↗