Future of Electronic Discovery in Canada

In the most recent issue of The Lawyers Weekly (vol. 26 no. 39), Brian Reny writes in The future of electronic discovery about trends in electronic discovery that will affect Canadian legal practitioners.

Reny is the national director of electronic discovery with KPMG’s Forensic practice in Toronto

The article examines emerging case law, as well as the evolution of practice directions and of corporate policies on matters ranging from records management and document retention to e-mail use.

Reny also describes the characteristics of new "e-discovery" technologies.

He concludes:

"Will companies be better equipped to quickly respond to requests for electronic information? Courtrooms fully equipped to present electronic documents in their original electronic format? Centralized data repositories that allow online Internet access to relevant documents by all parties to the litigation, their legal counsel and the assigned judge, regulator or arbitrator? Many lawyers are still struggling to analyze the new era in which they work and more importantly, they are struggling to provide adequate counsel to their clients in the area of electronic information".

"For the lawyer or law firm that is unprepared, understanding the fast-paced developments in the realm of e-discovery can mean the difference between winning and losing cases and maintaining and losing clients".