About JDR

JDR is Ontario’s first exclusively online dispute resolution service for land-related disputes. By offering its mediation and arbitration services in a video format with digital documents, JDR provides parties from across the province with fair, efficient, and cost-effective dispute resolution that is also environmentally responsible.

As principal of JDR, Sarah Jacobs brings more than 20 years of expertise in the fields of land use planning, municipal law, and expropriation to this practice.

One of the youngest appointees to the former Ontario Municipal Board (now the Ontario Land Tribunal), Sarah is recognized as a skilled arbitrator and mediator, as well as an innovator in the field. During her time at the Tribunal, she conducted more than 400 land-related disputes. In addition to successfully conducting complex and multi-party video hearings, Sarah can work exclusively with digital files involving extensive expert evidence, making the dispute resolution process more efficient while keeping costs down for parties.

Throughout her career, Sarah has demonstrated a clear and consistent commitment to working at the intersection of land development and the law. She holds an undergraduate degree in Planning (University of Windsor), a Master in Environmental Studies with a focus in planning (York University), and a Bachelor of Laws (Osgoode Hall Law School). Sarah’s experience also includes working with the City of Toronto’s Legal Services Division and later advising municipalities as Township Solicitor and private sector clients while she was a partner in a successful law firm in Fergus, Ontario.

Sarah brings to JDR’s professional development services more than a decade of experience as a law professor and leader in online continuing professional development. This, combined with her adjudication and mediation experience, makes her uniquely positioned to meet the training needs of any organization committed to preparing its lawyers, planners, and other land development professionals for litigation.

Sarah’s full CV is available upon request.