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

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

Consequences for Misuse of Generative AI

Candice Chan-Glasgow

Director, Review Services and Counsel

June 19, 2025

Notwithstanding the well-known potential for generative artificial intelligence (“GenAI”) to hallucinate and related guidance issued by Canadian law societies and courts, there continue to be new cases where counsel have relied on GenAI without independently verifying legal citations and content.

Consequences for Misuse of Generative AI.

A Response to the Ontario Civil Rules Review Phase 2 Consultation Report

See Heuristica’s response to the Phase 2 Consultation Report released on April 1st, a copy of which can be downloaded at: https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/32494/

As a firm with an exclusive practice in electronic evidence matters, Heuristica is in a unique position to comment on the interplay between the proposed reforms and the realities of digital evidence management. Drawing on our extensive experience, we explain that a failure to expressly address digital evidence issues risks undermining the Report’s core goals and further increasing litigation costs. Our submission offers practical, cost-effective solutions, including original digital format production and a one-step, materiality-based approach, that are essential to any meaningful civil justice reform in the digital age.… Read More