Keeping-Tabs-Spring-2023

than a small team of lawyers who have
close knowledge of the client needs
and issues in the case. Consider listing
the document categories from the review
protocol within the discovery plan.
8. Consider the use of sampling: Sampling
is a technique that involves reviewing
a representative subset of
the data, rather than reviewing all of
it. This can help reduce the time and
cost associated with manual review,
while still providing a reasonable level
of confidence that all relevant data
has been reviewed. To increase the efficacy
of sampling, you can follow up a
sample review with analysis targeted at
identifying specific categories of relevant
documents identified in a sample.
9. Use secure methods for data transfer:
Ensuring that data is transferred
securely during the discovery process
can help protect the data from unauthorized
access or disclosure. Secure
methods may include using encryption
or secure file transfers. The
data and the encryption keys or passwords
should never travel together.
10. Document the process: It is important
to document the entire discovery process,
including the collection, processing,
review, and production of data. This
documentation can be used to demonstrate
that the process was conducted in
a defensible manner and can help avoid
potential challenges to the discovery
process.
By keeping these practical considerations
in mind, lawyers can help ensure that the
e-discovery process is conducted in a defensible
and efficient manner.
CASE BRIEF
Summary trials: Maybe
a Goldilocks solution to
access to justice issues
Daniel Hermann, Osuji & Smith Lawyers
Access to justice doesn’t just mean having access to legal representation or legal resources. It also
includes having access to an effective, speedy and affordable adjudicatory mechanism. With trials
taking years and summary judgments sometimes not appropriate to decide all the issues in an
action, Goldilocks’s lawyer may advise her that a summary trial could be “just right” to resolve her
claim against Three Bears Inc.
As Feasby J. recently explained in Benke v Loblaw Companies Limited, even for cases worth no more
than $200,000, legal fees can exceed $50,000 if required to proceed to a full trial. Such costs of
litigating are not proportional to the claims’ worth. A more just solution is a summary trial, but as
His Honour notes in Benke, summary trials have been underutilized.
In Alberta, summary trials can be scheduled at almost any point in an action. They can also act as
a powerful motivation for settlement, as the certainty of a scheduled trial means that there is little
likelihood of the plaintiff simply “dropping” their action.
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