Crystal O’Donnell to teach E-Discovery Course

Starting on January 12^th, Crystal O’Donnell will teach an e-Discovery course at the Institute of Law Clerks of Ontario (ILCO).

The course will be taught at the ILCO Education Centre in Toronto.

The course, e -Discovery Advanced Theory & Practices for Litigation Support, is designed for law clerks and litigation support professionals. The course provides students with an understanding of each phase of the e-discovery process, with a focus placed on the Electronic Discovery Reference Model and the Sedona Canada Principles. An emphasis will also be placed on providing students with practical information about cooperative discovery planning, working in a cost-effective manner, and proportionality.… Read More

Privilege Risks and Electronic Discovery

On December 2, 2015, Chief Justice Rossiter of the Tax Court of Canada ruled on the Crown’s motion in CIBC v. The Queen[1] regarding, among other things, CIBC’s privilege claims and the adequacy of CIBC’s Schedule B with respect to electronic data.

The Crown’s motion related to CIBC’s appeal relating to its claim to deduct $3 billion in settlement payments, interest on the payments, and related legal expenses from its business income for the 2005 and 2006 taxation years. The Minister of National Revenue denied the deductions. From an eDiscovery perspective, there are two interesting issues from the ruling, one of which may impact professional liability insurance for privilege errors.… Read More

Updated Sedona Canada Principles

Recently, the Sedona Conference® published the second edition of the Sedona Canada Principles Addressing Electronic Discovery[1] (the “Principles”).

The Principles provide guidance on best practices for dealing with electronically stored information (ESI) with respect to parties’ discovery obligations. The original version of the Principles, published in January 2008, are referenced in the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure requiring parties to consult and have regard to the Principles in preparing their discovery plan.[2] Crystal O’Donnell, the founder of Heuristica Discovery Counsel is a contributing editor to the second edition.

There are a number of updates to the Principles and commentary, including an emphasis on the overarching principles of early and meaningful cooperation between counsel (Principle 4) and proportionality (Principle 2).… Read More