JESSIMAN LAW
Stacey Jessiman, JD, LLM
Founder & Director
At Jessiman Law, and previously at international firms in Canada, the US and France, Stacey has helped global companies, museums, Indigenous communities, governments, and individuals achieve intelligent solutions in business, art & cultural heritage, dispute resolution, intellectual property, and Aboriginal and Indigenous law matters.
Stacey helps Indigenous and industry clients create commercial agreements and corporate entities (including corporations, societies, LPs, and LLPs) that are tailored to their specific needs, build strong relationships, honour community values, and advance economic reconciliation. As part of that work, she develops clear corporate governance policies and optimizes management practices to support sustainable economic development.
Drawing on her previous work at Debevoise & Plimpton in New York on mergers & acquisitions and securities matters, and at Salans (now Dentons) in Paris on international arbitrations and mediations relating to energy, construction, mining, and IP disputes, as well as commercial matters for a global fashion house, Stacey knowledgeably and efficiently helps Indigenous and industry clients with a wide range of business and negotiation matters.
Stacey works with Indigenous communities on government-to-government agreements, band governance matters, and on crafting laws, policies, treaty provisions, and agreements relating to repatriation and protection of cultural heritage.
She is also sought after by museums around the world for expert help sensitively responding to repatriation and restitution claims in accordance with applicable legal and ethics frameworks, including UNDRIP, NAGPRA, the Washington Conference Principles, and the 1970 UNESCO Convention. She also advises museums on updating restitution and repatriation policies to reflect current approaches.
Stacey has created and taught courses at Stanford University examining the complex issues surrounding theft, destruction and return of art & Indigenous cultural heritage, including how to implement and improve international and domestic legal and ethical frameworks. Her courses bring into the classroom the voices and perspectives of renowned museum and Indigenous experts from around the world. Her research and teaching have contributed to her in-depth understanding of issues arising in repatriation/ restitution matters and her development of a specific process based on Relationship Building for resolving these disputes.
Through her work as a lawyer, mediator, and academic, Stacey has developed the ability to creatively handle interrelated legal, ethical, historical, cultural, financial, and organizational issues within clients' business relationships and dispute resolution processes.
Stacey holds BA degrees in Art History (Hons) and International Relations from Stanford University, a Juris Doctor from the University of Toronto, and an LLM degree from the University of British Columbia. She completed advanced mediation training at Harvard Law School and is a member of the arbitration and mediation panels of the Court of Arbitration for Art in the Hague. From 2012-2014, Stacey was a Visiting Student Researcher at the Stanford Archaeology Center, and in 2015/16 was a Visiting Scholar at Stanford Law School. She writes and speaks frequently at international conferences on UNDRIP, restitution/repatriation, museum practice, and dispute resolution issues.
Stacey is a member of the BC, Ontario, and New York Bars and is fluent in French.
You can contact Stacey by email at stacey@jessimanlaw.com, or by clicking on the tab below:
Representative Experience:
Business & Economic Development
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Creation of business and economic development entities, including corporations, societies, joint ventures, Limited Liability Partnerships and Limited Partnerships, and related documents including shareholder agreements and corporate governance policies creating clarity around profit distribution and governance matters
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Regular Board of Directors advising and training on corporate governance best practices
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Assistance to First Nation clients with MOUs and partnership agreements with industry partners
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Assistance to an Indigenous economic development corporation with acquiring 100% ownership of a financial software subsidiary
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Assistance to an agricultural industry client with joint venture and revenue-sharing agreements with First Nations
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Advising First Nation corporations on Indigenous procurement set-aside criteria and responding to RFPs
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Advice to government on RFPs related to Indigenous engagement
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Development of ecotourism revenue-sharing agreements
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Advice to First Nation governments on financial administration laws and finance policies
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Assistance to Fortune 500 companies with mergers and acquisitions and securities issuances
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Assistance to a French global fashion house with commercial agreements related to its retail business in Asia
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Worked on the corporate aspects of a leading Canadian insurance company’s demutualization
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Worked as in-house counsel for a B2B e-commerce company
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Legal advice to human rights and arts-related non-profit organizations
Negotiation/Dispute Resolution
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Negotiation of purchase & sale and accommodation agreements on behalf of First Nations relating to the transfer of traditional territory from the Crown and Crown corporations
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Development and negotiation of Impact Benefit Agreements between First Nations and industry relating to major projects taking place on their territories
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Negotiation of economic development and community agreements between First Nations and government relating to mining projects on their traditional territories
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Negotiation of revenue sharing agreements between First Nations and government relating to forestry activities on their traditional territories
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Development of innovative reconciliation agreements between First Nations, educational institutions and government relating to educational, financial, cultural, and land & resource use/management issues
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Assistance to BC First Nations with negotiating an Enduring Relationship Agreement with a BC Crown Corporation and related trust matters
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Helped clients in France, the United States and Canada resolve international commercial disputes in the energy, mining, construction and IP sectors through arbitration and mediation, under a variety of institutional rules
Art, Heritage & Intellectual Property
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Advice to museums in North America on provenance research and appropriate legal responses to art restitution claims
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Assistance to First Nations in Canada with repatriating material from museums
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Assistance to museums in Canada with updating their repatriation policies to implement UNDRIP
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Advice to a US museum on sensitively repatriating material under NAGPRA
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Advice to US tribal and state government agencies on matters relating to the international repatriation of Indigenous cultural material
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Helped the family of a renowned Canadian artist reclaim consigned works from a gallery
- Assistance to Indigenous clients with protecting traditional knowledge and other intellectual property rights through cultural heritage laws and policies and in agreements with industry and government partners
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Negotiated changes to the culture and heritage chapter of a BC treaty to respect UNDRIP
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Provided provenance research and restitution claim risk analysis to a US university in advance of a major art exhibition
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Advised a South American federal government on amendments to its heritage laws
Professional Association Memberships:
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Court of Arbitration for Art (Mediator and Arbitrator Panel Member)
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Truth and Reconciliation Advocacy Committee, Canadian Bar Association - BC Branch
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Lawyers Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation (Advocacy Committee)
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Canadian Bar Association
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American Bar Association
