Heuristica Congratulates Winner of Legal Research Award

Heuristica is pleased to congratulate Jamil Oueidat, the winner of the 2025 University of Calgary Faculty of Law Heuristica Discovery Counsel Award for Legal Research.

This $2,000 award is presented annually to an undergraduate law student who authors the best research paper in the Faculty’s Law 693 undergraduate E-Litigation course. Jamil’s winning paper, “The Promising Use of Virtual Reality (VR) in the Realm of Evidence” exemplifies how innovative thinking and rigorous research can open new possibilities for the courtroom of the future by exploring how emerging technologies like VR could transform the way evidence is presented in court.

Heuristica also congratulates the School, Dean Laura Spitz, past Dean, Dr.… Read More

Reconsidering the Presumption of Reliability for Digital Evidence in Canadian Law – A Cautionary Reflection on the UK Horizon Scandal

Martin Felsky

Senior Counsel

The Canadian legal framework for the admissibility of electronic evidence is grounded in a presumption that digital records generated or stored by a functioning electronic system are reliable. Codified in sections 31.1 to 31.8 of the Canada Evidence Act (CEA), this presumption was introduced in 2000 to accommodate the growing volume of digital records and to promote efficiency in legal proceedings.

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Rethinking eDiscovery – From Risk Management to Ethical Design in the Age of Generative AI

Martin Felsky

Senior Counsel

August 8, 2025

For the past decade, lawyers adopting best practices in technology-assisted review (TAR) have been guided by one overriding concern: defensibility. Their workflows were built to withstand judicial scrutiny as prescribed by the rules, case law and the Sedona Canada Principles.

That risk-averse approach serves its purpose. But it also entrenches a mindset that treated technology as a liability to be justified rather than as a capability to be unleashed. Today, generative AI invites us once again to shift our professional perspective from defensive compliance to proactive ethical design.

Beyond Defensibility: Toward Trustworthy AI Systems

In the world of generative AI, “defensibility” will no longer need to be treated as a constraint.… Read More

NATIONWIDE – CANADA: An introduction to eDiscovery

Kelly Friedman

Chief Legal Data Intelligence Office and Senior Counsel

This overview was recently prepared by Heuristica for inclusion in Chambers & Partners’ 2025 Litigation Support Guide released in June 2025.

Canadian Perspectives on Global eDiscovery Trends and Emerging Best Practices

In 2025, legal teams worldwide are navigating increasingly complex eDiscovery demands fueled by rapid technological advances, diverse data sources, and changing regulatory requirements. This article examines international developments through the prism of Canada’s legal, regulatory, and technological landscape, and outlines future trends that will define the next phase of electronic disclosure in Canada.

Canadian eDiscovery Law and Best Practices

Canadian civil eDiscovery obligations emerge from a layered legal framework of provincial rules of court, court practice directions, judicial interpretation, and national best practice guidelines.… Read More

Document Dumps in Litigation: How Acciona Fell Short and Gowing Got It Right on Discovery Legal Standards

Kelly Friedman

Chief Legal Data Intelligence Office and Senior Counsel

July 23, 2025

In the evolving landscape of electronic discovery, courts are increasingly asked to adjudicate disputes over document production volumes and the boundaries of relevance. Two recent decisions, Acciona Wastewater Solutions LP v. Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District [GVS&DD], 2025 BCSC 1256 (Acciona) and Gowing Contractors Ltd. v. Walsh Construction Company Canada, 2023 ONSC 4407 (Gowing), offer contrasting judicial approaches to these challenges.

Acciona misses a critical opportunity to clarify the legal obligations of document production under Rule 7-1 of the British Columbia Supreme Court Civil Rules. … Read More