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LEGAL REPORT: E-DISCOVERY Niche developing for e-discovery specialists Myriad technical issues and the high cost of making mistakes mean there's a hole to be filled by lawyers who know the ins and outs of electronic data. has been discussed, as well as the fact that certain administra- tive bodies, such as the competition tribunal, are specifically requesting electronic information. "The lawyers are now start- ing to, I think, realize that finding, and organizing and sifting through, and then ultimately producing large volumes of elec- tronically stored information is a lot more difficult and com- plicated than they would have assumed at the beginning," says Felsky. As you start to delve into e-discovery, the technical is- sues and the strategic issues start to get complex, he adds. Lawyers who are working diligently for their clients on these files "are realizing that they do need help, and that they need the right kind of help — not just IT help, but e-discovery help," he says. Indeed, more than globalization or demographic shifts, e- BY HEL EN BURNE T T ingly complex area is becoming apparent to many litigators. The first draft of the Sedona Canada Principles addressing E electronic discovery was released in late January. Martin Felsky, co-founder and CEO of litigation support services company Commonwealth Legal Inc., says: "The principles really direct lawyers in Canada as to their responsibilities vis à vis electroni- cally stored information, and what's happening right now in Canada is that there are a lot of drivers pushing lawyers towards electronic discovery." These drivers include a number of cases where e-discovery -discovery is everywhere. Lawyers across the coun- try are well aware elements of it are in every area of law, from commercial litigation to family cases. As e-discovery becomes more prevalent, the need for those with specialized knowledge in this increas- discovery is the area lawyers feel will have the biggest impact on the practice of law over the next five years, according to a recent survey by Robert Half Legal. David Outerbridge, a lawyer with Torys LLP in Toronto and chairman of the Ontario E-discovery Implementation Committee, a joint committee of the Ontario Bar Association and The Advocates' Society, says there is defi- nitely a developing niche market for specialists in e-discovery. He notes there is a major learning curve in e-discovery at the moment, and there are few people with a true specialization in this area. "[A] major educational task [is] still ahead, both for lawyers and for judges," he says. "I think it will be a number of years before everyone feels comfortable." Wortzman Nickle Professional Corp. is the first and only law firm in Canada devoted to advising clients and lawyers on e-discovery and related issues. Since its launch last fall, Susan Wortzman says the firm has been retained in equal measure by other law firms and clients directly, as there is a need on both sides for some specialty and expertise in the e-discovery area. "One of the biggest reasons for that also is the mistakes — the mistakes that you make can be very costly," she says. "This is sort of a scary area to be feeling your way through when you're actually navigating a real piece of litigation." Prior to founding the firm, Wortzman, who is also chair- woman of the Sedona Canada working group, says she saw a trend developing in America of specific law firms devoted to e-discovery. "It was really watching some of our friends in the United States and seeing the work that they were doing in this specific specialty area and thinking we have a need for this in Canada," she says. www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com M ARCH 2008 43 JEREMY BRUNEEL