Canada joins in Electronic Discovery

Evidence mounts for use of e-discovery in legal system

But the process is raising some concerns
February 2, 2004

"As more and more business documents are put into electronic form, "e-discovery" will play a growing role in court cases.

And the process of seeking evidence in electronic data -- known as electronic discovery -- is raising concerns across the legal system, including its effect on the cost of litigation, privacy issues and the implications of fast-changing technology.

Discovery is the process of identifying documents that may be relevant to litigation and making them available to an adversary in a lawsuit. E-discovery applies that process to electronic documents, including e-mail, word-processed files, data bases and spreadsheets.

The role of e-mail messages in high-profile American lawsuits such as the U.S. Justice Department's antitrust case against Microsoft Corp. has helped draw attention to the issue. Yet many Canadian lawyers have been uncomfortable with e-discovery until recently, says Peter Vakof, vice-president of forensic technology solutions at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Canada in Toronto.

That, however, is changing. While there are no firm numbers on the amount of e-discovery in Canada, it is becoming more common. Commonwealth Legal Inc., a Toronto litigation support firm specializing in e-discovery, is currently helping on seven cases in Canada, says president Martin Felsky."