E-Trial Resources

Gower Modern Law’s goal is to have everyone litigating on e-trial platforms by 2025. In her research and writing on e-trials, Kate Gower noticed that there is only a limited amount of publicly-available information on successful e-trials in Canada. She set about collecting that information in one place so lawyers that want to litigate electronically can build on what is already happening in courts across Canada.

West Moberly v. BC ran as an e-trial in Victoria, BC for 60 days between October 2014 and November 2017, and Kate was the lawyer responsible for the e-trial platform. In this 3-minute video, Kate shows the e-trial platform in action in Courtroom 404 of the Victoria Courthouse.

2019 – iPad E-Trial Protocol No. 2
This is an updated version of the 2016 iPad E-Trial protocol below. Once again, it considers the mythical case of Widget v Widget. It drills down into the details that the parties are finding lead to a successful iPad E-Trial.

2016 iPad E-Trial Protocol
Since 2015, counsel have litigated a number of successful “iPad E-trials” in Ontario courts, including Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd. v Schad, 2016 ONSC 2297. This generic iPad E-Trial Protocol gives you an idea of the attention to detail required.

2019 E-Trial Consent Order – Ontario Superior Court of Justice – Saugeen Ojibway Nation v. AG Canada et al
The parties to Saugeen Ojibway Nation (“SON”) v. AG Canada et al (ONSC Court File Nos. 94-CQ-50872CM and 03-CV-261134CM1) prepared but did not file this consent order regarding their two services providers, i.e. for the E-Trial Platform and for Realtime Reporting, and this E-Trial Plan, but both orders were a significant part of the trial preparation.

2019 E-Trial Consent Order – BC Supreme Court – Cowichan Tribes et al. v. Canada et al.
The parties to Cowichan Tribes et al. v. Canada et al. (Victoria File No. 14 1027) filed a consent order to confirm their plans for an E-Trial. The order builds on the content used in the Federal Court’s orders but is alive to the administrative division between court services and the judiciary in the BC Supreme Court.

2018 E-Trial Plan – Federal Court of Canada – Jim Shot Both Sides v. Canada
Justice Zinn presided over a second e-trial in 2018. With this e-trial plan, the Federal Court of Canada takes many of the e-trial processes in-house.

2016 E-Trial Plan – Federal Court of Canada – Southwind v. Canada
Justice Zinn at the Federal Court of Canada ensured the e-trial plan for this case was filed with the Federal Court Registry. The e-trial platform builds on earlier e-trial platform development undertaken at the Federal Court of Canada in its competition tribunal.

2015 Paperless Trials Manual
The Advocates’ Society produced a document which focuses on options for making trials paperless.

2014 E-Trial Plan – Superior Court of Justice – Ontario
Justice Brown ordered the parties in Bank of Montreal v. Fabish to conduct a six week trial as an e-trial. The E-Trial Plan is a letter from Bank of Montreal’s counsel and asks the court to order various deadlines and processes that are not requested in other E-trial Plans where the parties advance an e-trial by mutual consent.

2010 Schedule 1 – Judicial Comments About the Electronic (Digital) Trial Format
Justice Germain at the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta presided over Edmonton’s first E-trial and added a useful schedule of comments to the end of his reasons for judgement.

2010 What is an Electronic Trial?
The Ontario Bar Association’s E-discovery Implementation Committee prepared a detailed lists of possible steps and considerations for e-trials.

Provincial and Federal Courts have practise directions for the use of Technology in Civil Litigation. Find them, as well as reports on recent e-trials, judges experiences, and lawyers e-trial stories in the Modern Law Blog.

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