Electronic Discovery

Not being a practicing lawyer, I’ve required more than a moment to clue into the depth and difficulty of the problems facing law firms and their clients as a result of all of the current forms of electronic data, ranging from emails to material on web sites, or blogs for that matter.

As I’m sure the rest of Slaw knows, these forms are more evanescent than good old paper, and are more subject to easy… emendation, shall we say, or to unintended publication. These foibles can prove troublesome within lawsuits, for example, when documents must be produced or otherwise made available. What counts as a document? What is a copy? What if it’s been “deleted”? etc.

Ontario lawyers should pay attention to the fruits of a report (Guidelines for the Discovery of Electronic Documents in Ontario [pdf], published by the Task Force on the Discovery Process in Ontario in November, 2005) about the problems posed by electronic data in law:

To help members of the Ontario bar deal with e-Discovery issues, The Discovery Task Force Sub-Committee created e-Discovery Guidelines or best practices. The e-Discovery Guidelines will be updated as practices develop and evolve. The Committee welcomes input from members of the profession.PracticePRO Practice Aids

The Discovery Task Force E-Discovery Resources Page is hosted by the Ontario Bar Association, where you’ll find a wealth of information on the issue, most important perhaps being a link to an e-discovery reading list hosted on PracticPRO.