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D
igital tools to use in discovery have been evolving over the past
decade or so, from glorified Excel databases to very technically
sophisticated software.
"The tools now are incredible," says Sarah Millar, discovery coun-
sel at Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP, a litigation boutique
firm in Toronto, whose practice focuses exclusively on discovery. E-discovery
technology has grown by leaps and bounds recently, she says, and the legal pro-
fession in Canada has embraced it. "The sophisticates in the U.S. were using the
technology before us, but here, the uptake has been incredible in the last two or
three years."
Grant Thornton's survey for its 2018 National Litigation Report showed that,
while many respondents didn't believe the costs of e-discovery were deterring
clients and organizations from moving forward with cases, most respondents (57
per cent) felt the true costs of e-discovery were still being revealed and are already
affecting the legal process or could in the future.
And two-thirds of respondents believed forces
such as artificial intelligence are disrupting —
or may disrupt — the legal process.
But lawyers who practise in e-discovery
extoll its benefits, including the cost effi-
ciencies in having machines do the work of
humans — and more quickly. So, whether
you're a sole practitioner or a litigator at a
major law firm, there is an e-discovery solu-
tion for you; you just need to find it if you
haven't already.
Data then and now
Back in 2006, when e-discovery tools were
starting to be explored, there was less data; the
Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. held
the most, says Glenn Smith, a founding partner
at Lenczner Slaght in Toronto, but by today's
standards, that amount was negligible. It now
holds at least 10 terabytes of data; even as far
back as 2011 there were 1.8 trillion gigabytes of
data being generated in the U.S., he says.
Today's discovery involves vast amounts of data
to be sifted through, including copious volumes of
email and data from social media accounts. "You
cannot go forward without controlling electronic
data," says Smith. "It's impossible."
Tools to analyze digital data have become more
sophisticated and cheaper, allowing even small firms
to reap the benefits
By Elizabeth Raymer
E-DISCOVERY
EVOLUTION
L I T I G A T I O N
L E G A L R E P O R T
MATTHEW
BILLINGTON
