Canadian Lawyer 4Students

C A N A D I A N L a w y e r 4 s t u d e n t s s p r i n g 2 0 1 4 23 e report says in recent years, "some crit- ics have claimed that discovery-related expenditures are so far out of control that they are preventing parties from litigating legitimate disputes." Ed Burke, senior vice president of docu- ment review at Epiq Systems Inc., says the e-discovery stage of litigation has created opportunities for young lawyers. "Over the last 10 years, we've seen a dramatic shi in the way that law is practised. And a lot of that, I think, is a result of electronic infor- mation and the growth of what we now call electronic discovery," he says. "So there's a new opportunity for lawyers to handle the document review part of the case, which is, in our view, and in the view of most law- yers, a significant part of matter because cases can be won and lost in e-discovery." Wendy Cole, director of document review services at Epiq's Toronto office, says she knows, from seven years of liti- gation practice, document review expe- rience matters. "Most of what I did as a young litigator was document review," she says. "at's kind of, from my perspec- tive, where every litigator starts, so even though these young lawyers are indepen- dent contractors and are not in a tradition- al firm structure, they're learning the same skills — they're learning about litigation, learning about litigation strategy, learning about how to make calls on relevance and privilege that's going to take them through the rest of their careers." Cole says there are ways law students can prepare themselves for e-discovery work. "I would say one of the main start- ing points for law students in trying to un- derstand e-discovery in Canada is to start with the Sedona Canada principles," she says. Brushing up on the technical side, including predictive coding, wouldn't hurt either. To their advantage, young lawyers tend to be good with computers, Burke says. "We really look for folks who are highly motivated, who come from good schools, and who can bring a lot of enthu- siasm and intelligence to the projects. We love working with young lawyers because they're enthusiastic." Reviewing documents isn't the only thing law graduates do at Epiq. Lawyers also make up a significant portion of Epiq's project management team, Burke notes. "ose are folks who will lead the document review process themselves. ey have an important role; they're the key person that's in contact with outside counsel so they have an important func- tion in shaping the review but also in deal- ing with our clients," he says. "ere are purely technical opportunities for lawyers but there are also opportunities for them to work on a more significant level on the document review side." Epiq opened its Toronto office in fall 2013. In New York, Epiq has already launched a recruiting program with law schools and hopes to expand the initia- tive to Toronto if it proves successful in the U.S. Emily Lee, a partner with ZSA Legal Recruitment Ltd., says her company sees more and more ways lawyers can use their training outside of the law firm context. "I do think there are a lot of positions out there, more so lately, that a legal training is helpful for but not necessarily requires you to practise," she says. "In the past, we've seen opportunities like compliance and legislative review, typically on a con- tract basis, where they just need some- body with a legal training that can come in and review a legislation and write a brief memorandum." But young lawyers are also hired with companies that produce legal conferences, Lee says. She says these companies typi- cally prefer lawyers to help them plan and put together continuing professional de- velopment events. And for lawyers with a penchant for good prose, legal writing and editing is also an option, says Lee. "Legal publication product development is an- other area that we see people making the transition into," she notes, adding compa- nies like omson Reuters oen look for lawyers to contribute to their content. A non-traditional start doesn't have to mean you can't have a long legal career. Many subcontractors have moved on to start their own practice or join companies as in-house counsel. Girma was offered an in-house position with a company in Oakville, Ont., midway through her ADT contract. She started the job but had to re- turn to Toronto for personal reasons, she explains. Like many young lawyers hired by similar companies, Girma signed on as a contractor for a specific project. Her contract has been renewed several times, she says, and she's learning skills she'll need throughout her career. For students and recent law graduates who might be feeling the crunch in a dif- ficult job market and edging on hopeless- ness, Girma says: "I just want students to know there are opportunities to stay involved in the legal industry, and docu- ment review is one of them. Don't write off document review because at the end of the day, you're in touch with legal issues and legal analysis and I just find that very helpful," she says. "Take time to make a good plan and figure out what your career search is going to look like but also stay active and take projects along the way be- cause it just makes it more noticeable for recruiters that you're committed to staying in the area and are not taking yourself out of it." ■ Over the last 10 years, we've seen a dramatic shift in the way that law is practised. And a lot of that, I think, is a result of electronic information and the growth of what we now call electronic discovery. Ed Burke, Epiq Systems Inc.

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