Electronic Discovery in the Public Sector: Tips and Strategies for Enhancing Legal Outcomes and Mitigating Risks
October 25, 2023 | 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM Eastern
Zoom Meeting
Public sector lawyers face unique challenges in the field of electronic discovery (eDiscovery) due to the nature of their work, including navigating administrative structures governing their ability to collect data and procure necessary technology, working with limited resources and adhering to strict regulations.
Listen to a panel of knowledgeable lawyers with significant public sector eDiscovery experience as they share their insight for effectively adapting to evolving technology, optimizing data management, and enhancing legal outcomes while mitigating associated risks.
Moderator
Martin Felsky, Heuristica Discovery Counsel LLP
Martin is Senior Counsel to Heuristica Discovery Counsel LLP and is often referred to as “the Dean of eDiscovery lawyers in Canada”. He obtained his J.D. and Ph.D from the University of Toronto. In Martin's 35-year legal career he has been sought out as a technology transformation advisor to law firms, governments, courts and corporations around the world. Martin was involved in drafting the Ontario eDiscovery Guidelines, the Sedona Canada Principles, and is a member of the Ontario Digital Evidence and eDiscovery Working Group and The Sedona Conference Canada Working Group 7. He also serves on the Uniform Law Conference of Canada Electronic Document Rules Working Group, which is developing nationally consistent rules of practice. He was appointed to the Canadian General Standards Board Committee on the admissibility of digital evidence in 2014. Martin is a past Chair of the Board of the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII).
Speakers
Duncan Fraser, noticia LLP
One of Canada’s leading eDiscovery lawyers, Duncan has over 25 years’ experience in both public and private practice. As managing partner at noticia LLP, Duncan oversees the firm’s litigation strategy, eDiscovery, privacy, advisory and technology services practice. Noticia LLP is a bilingual eDiscovery and litigation support law firm located in Ottawa, Canada which provides services across the country.
Prior to moving to private practice in 2015, Duncan was General Counsel and Director of eDiscovery and National Litigation Support Services for the Federal Department of Justice and under his direction, the Department became a public leader in electronic discovery. Duncan created the Department’s evidence management team, which delivers expedited document review to litigation teams across the country. His team was responsible for the department’s eService initiative, disclosure project management, courtroom technology, and the development of the national eDiscovery standards/best practices.
Crystal O’Donnell, Heuristica Discovery Counsel LLP
Crystal is the CEO of Heuristica Discovery Counsel LLP and is called to the bar in both Ontario and Alberta. Crystal holds a B.A. from York University, an LL.B. from Queens University (1997) and an LL.M. from the University of Toronto. She has extensive experience as litigation and eDiscovery counsel, having practiced with a leading litigation firm and the Ministry of the Attorney General (Ontario). She has represented clients in numerous complex matters at all levels of the Ontario courts as well as in regulatory proceedings and investigations. Crystal is the Chair of a Uniform Law Conference of Canada working group which has developed harmonized rules of civil procedure for the discovery and disclosure of electronic documents in legal proceedings. As a former Steering Committee member of Sedona Canada, she is one of the contributing authors of the Sedona Canada Principles. Crystal has also developed and instructed the “e-Discovery Advanced Theory & Practices for Litigation Support Fellowship Course” for The Institute of Law Clerks of Ontario (ILCO) and is Chair of the Board of the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII).
Edwina Podemski
Edwina was admitted to the Alberta Bar in 1987. Her practice was in civil litigation and throughout her legal career, she maintained a strong interest in computing and information technology. In 2005 she joined Alberta Justice and added the areas of eDiscovery and Records and Information Management advice to her complex litigation practice, which included class actions. In 2009 she added information security and digital forensic investigation to her portfolio. In 2018 she left the civil litigation office to focus on forensic and information security advice and investigations. She continued to provide strategic advice on complex eDiscovery matters until her retirement from Alberta Justice in May of 2023. She is currently on the inactive practice list.
