Legal Minds Gather in Toronto for Inaugural E-Discovery Conference

Litigation counsel and their clients have long been put on notice that electronically stored information may become the subject of requests for production. The scope of the duty to preserve, and the breadth of the type of electronically-stored information subject to the preservation obligation are not always readily apparent. In fact, when coupled with the reality that huge volumes of material maybe involved, e-discovery has the potential to increase litigation costs to staggering levels.

Electronically stored information has and will continue to change the way people do business and store business related information. For lawyers, it has changed how they should advise their clients regarding their production obligations when litigation is pending.

The Inaugural Sedona Canada Program on Getting Ahead of the e-Discovery Curve is a two day conference to be held in Toronto on October 23-24, 2008 that offers an opportunity to gain valuable insights into best practices for e-discovery, and practical strategies to meet judicial expectations, while reducing costs. The conference is the first of its kind to be held by Sedona Canada, the Canadian version of the well-known U.S. think tank, The Sedona Conference® which is responsible for The Sedona Principles: Best Practices Recommendations & Principles for Addressing Electronic Document Production and other important resources.

The Sedona Conference® Canadian Working Group on Electronic Document Retention & Production which evolved into Sedona Canada is the non-profit law & policy think-tank that developed The Sedona Canada Principles Addressing Electronic Discovery. Sedona Canada was formed out of the growing recognition that the discovery of electronically stored information can no longer be seen as a peculiarity of litigation in the U.S. involving huge dollars or limited to complex commercial lawsuits. E-discovery is now a reality for business organizations of all sizes.

Sedona Canada’s purpose is to develop best practices recommendations for lawyers, courts, businesses and others who confront e-discovery issues. The upcoming conference is the first event where Sedona members will share their expertise, insights and experiences. The conference will be featuring Sedona Canada’s expert faculty including esteemed members of the Bench, leading practitioners and experts.

The panelists will include The Honourable Mr. Justice Colin L. Campbell of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Master Calum MacLeod of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and legal practitioners such as Susan Wortzman, founder of Wortzman Nickle and the Chair of the Steering Committee of Sedona Conference® Working Group 7, Sedona Canada, and Co-Chair of the Inaugural Program together with Kelly Friedman, a litigation partner with Ogilvy Renault LLP and Co-Chair of Sedona Canada Inaugural Conference, Dominic Jaar, legal counsel at Ledjit, an information management, e-discovery and law practice management consulting firm, Jonathan Redgrave a founding partner of Redgrave Daley Ragan & Wagner and Steering Committee Chair Emeritus of The Sedona Conference® Working Group on Electronic Document Retention and Production (WG1), as well as Martin Felsky of Commonwealth Legal, David Gray, a partner in the Litigation Group of McCarthy Tétrault in Montréal, Glenn A. Smith, one of the five founding partners of Lenczner Slaght, Karen Groulx, a partner at Pallett Valo LLP, Peg Duncan, Department of Justice, Canada, Robert Deanne, a partner with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in Vancouver, Ron Hudges of Nixon Peabody, Kenneth J. Withers, Director of Judicial Education and Content for The Sedona Conference®, as well as other members of the bench and bar from both Canada and the U.S. Panel discussions will focus on 7 key areas:


• The Sedona Canada Principles
• Management of Electronic Information to Avoid Costs in Discovery
• Cost-Shifting & Sanctions – Judicial Advice
• Legal Holds: The Trigger & the Process
• Multi-Party, Multi-Jurisdictional, Class Actions & Other Complications
• Cooperation with Opposing Counsel on Common e-discovery Issues
• New Roles and New Teams to Manage e-discovery Successfully




You can find out more about Sedona Canada’s upcoming conference in Toronto at The Sedona Conference web site at http://www.thesedonaconference.org.