Canadian Lawyer InHouse

MARCH/APRIL 2019 36 INHOUSE I n d u s t r y S p o t l i g h t ing yet," says Evans. As a result of major changes to the civil rules in British Columbia in 2010, there has been guidance in this area in the province for a number of years, says Vanessa Gauth- ier, a partner at Lindsay LLP in Vancouver. "The rules on experts are very specifi c. Their duty is to assist the court," she says. "We exercise a lot of caution in who we choose. We check to see if they have pre- viously been disparaged by a court and we carefully assess their credentials," adds Gauthier, whose practice focuses on insur- ance defence litigation. As well, she notes that access-to-justice issues and the cost of litigation are just as top of mind in B.C. as they are in the rest of the country. "Adverse costs insurance is more common. You are seeing litigants who used to be fearful of being subject to an adverse costs award now going to trial," Gauthier says. An increased use of technology is another way to try to reduce costs. In B.C., e-fi ling has been in place for a number of years, and video technology can be used by the courts if witnesses are in remote sections of the prov- ince and the lawyers on both sides agree. "There are also judges who embrace USB sticks or hyperlinks [to cases] in writ- ten submissions. More things are opening up," says Gauthier. If there is still a slow pace to embracing the use of current technologies, it is more likely a function of the operation of the courts than any resistance by the legal community. Eric Grossman, a partner at Zarek Taylor Grossman Hanrahan LLP in Toronto, says the fi rm has been "paperless" for some time. "We are able to do paperless trials when the courts will allow it," he says. At Aviva, the move is also toward being paperless in its in-house litigation depart- ment, says Evans. "Everything gets scanned. We go to discoveries without paper," he adds. For cases that go to trial, "it is still a function of which judge it is. The courts are getting a lot better though," Evans says. An ongoing issue for Aviva in cases where it goes to court and is successful is deter- mining the appropriate costs award. "We don't keep an hour-by-hour record. We fi nd that to be ineffi cient and we are trying to re- lieve our lawyers of the tyranny of dockets. But because we don't docket, we can't just press a button and generate costs. Some- times, judges have struggled in determin- ing costs when we have been successful on a motion," says Evans. This may be a more signifi cant issue in the years ahead as Aviva and other insurance companies continue to increase the size of their in-house legal departments and rely less on external fi rms. "There is a big trend toward bringing litigation in-house," Evans says. "We are getting outstanding applicants from lawyers at very good fi rms," he adds. The increased staffi ng in-house is also impacting fi rms in B.C., says Gauthier. When you are looking for specialized legal counsel, turn to the resource that showcases peer-ranked Canadian legal talent. lexpert.ca/directory LAWYER Untitled-9 1 2019-03-07 3:48 PM

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