Jordan Lester

Biography

Jordan is a partner at Cheadles, having joined the firm in September 2013. Prior to joining Cheadles, Jordan articled as a judicial law clerk for the Superior Court of Justice – Northwest region. While based in Thunder Bay, he also clerked for the Superior Court judges of Kenora, Sault Ste. Marie and Parry Sound.

Jordan has successfully represented clients while appearing before the Ontario Court of Appeal, Divisional Court, Superior Court of Justice, Federal Court of Canada, Alberta Queen’s Bench, Ontario Court of Justice, Provincial Offences Court, Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, Ontario Labour Relations Board and the Ontario Municipal Board (now the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal). His cases have been reported by a variety of publications including the Ontario Reports, Canadian Human Rights Reports, Canadian Labour Law Cases, Estates & Trusts Reports, Municipal and Planning Law Reports, Construction Law Reports, Weekly Criminal Bulletins and the All Canada Weekly Summaries.

Before entering the world of law, Jordan spent several years as a reporter for the CBC, filing stories at the regional, provincial and national level, making regular contributions to programs such as World Report, Ontario Today, and The World This Weekend. Jordan is very active with various not-for-profit organizations in Thunder Bay, and in his spare time he enjoys snowboarding, playing hockey, fishing and watching the Blue Jays.

Professional Associations

• Thunder Bay Law Association
• Ontario Bar Association
• The Advocates’ Society
• Ad IDEM/Canadian Media Lawyers Association
• Canadian Association for the Practical Study of Law in Education

Community Involvement

• President – Thunder Bay Law Association
• President and Trustee – Thunder Bay Community Foundation
• Chair of the Lakehead Public School Foundation
• Co-Chair – Thunder Bay Covid Community Response Fund
• Clinical Instructor – Lakehead University Faculty of Law – Constitutional Law
• Local Organizing Committee – 2017 WBSC U18 Baseball World Cup
• Director – Thunder Bay International Baseball Association
• Fundraiser – Harbour Youth Services of Thunder Bay
• Volunteer – Lawyers Feed the Hungry
• Mock trial coach – Ontario Justice Education Network

Publications & Presentations

• Responsible communication on matters of public interest: An analysis of the modification to qualified privilege (2012) 17 Media & Arts Law Review 145.
• “Bill S-6 and the First Nations Elections Act: The Modernization/Paternalization of Voting under the Indian Act” 15.3 Ontario Bar Association, Aboriginal Law Section, July 2012
• “How to accommodate transgendered or gender-nonconforming students in schools” in Caroline Spindler Ed., CAPSLE 2016: Bright Lights on Emerging Issues in Education Law, Proceedings of the Twenty-Seventh Annual Conference of the Canadian Association for the Practical Study of Law in Education, held in Toronto, Ontario May 1 – 3, 2016 (Toronto: CAPSLE, 2017).
• “Human Rights Law in 2016” (presentation) – Human Resources Professionals Association – Northwest Chapter – May 5, 2016 – Thunder Bay, ON
• “The Anishinabek Nation Education Agreement: Expanding the horizons of education self-government in Canada”, CAPSLE 2017: In the Land of Living Skies – Expanding the Horizons in Education and the Law, Proceedings of the Twenty-Eighth Annual Conference of the Canadian Association for the Practical Study of Law in Education, held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan April 30 – May 2, 2017
• “Discrimination or No Discrimination” (presentation) – Human Resources Professionals Association – Human Resources Professionals Association – January 23, 2020 – Toronto, ON
• “Costs – For Us; By Us” (presentation & paper) – Thunder Bay Law Association Continuing Legal Education Fall Conference – October 19, 2018 – Thunder Bay, ON
• “Cause or No Cause” (presentation) – Human Resources Professionals Association – Northwest Chapter – February 23, 2017 – Thunder Bay, ON
• “SLAPP FIGHT 2.0 – Developments in Anti-SLAPP motions since August 30, 2018” (presentation & paper) – Thunder Bay Law Association Continuing Legal Education Fall Conference – October 25, 2019 – Thunder Bay, ON

Bar Admission

2013 – Ontario

Education

• 2006 – University of King’s College – Bachelor of Journalism (Honours)
• 2011 – Bond University – Juris Doctor