Advocacy Matters - March 2019

SIGNATURE CONFERENCE
Tricks of the Trade 2019:
Cyberspace and back
Sabrina A. Lucenti, Dooley Lucenti LLP
The personal injury bar got their usual head start in 2019 with the annual Tricks of the Trade
Conference in Toronto. Conference chairs Patrick J. Brown, McLeish Orlando LLP, Susan E.
Gunter, Dutton Brock LLP and Peter W. Kryworuk, Lerners LLP lead a great lineup of speakers
who provided updates on recent court decisions, hot topics in the law and trial advocacy tips.
This year’s Tricks took the audience on a wonderful journey through the #digitalworld.
Rikin Morzaria, McLeish Orlando LLP (@RikinMorzaria) discussed social media evidence
from the investigation phase through to trial. He covered what you need to know about
preserving and producing social media evidence during the discovery process and a case
law update on disclosure obligations and the use of social media evidence at trial.
Daniel Michaluk, Hicks Morley (@danmichaluk) gave us a refresher on privacy law including
everything you need to know about the tort of inclusion upon seclusion and a case law update
on the exclusion of evidence obtained in breach of privacy. In a time when people are
sharing their day-to-day happenings with hundreds of their closest “friends”, where do we
draw the line on one’s reasonable expectation of privacy? Asking for a friend.
Catherine Bruder of Bruder
Springstead LLP gave a case law
update on how to get your social
media and surveillance evidence
before the court at trial.
Everyone knows the way to a
personal injury defence lawyer’s
heart is through surveillance.
However, there is nothing
more heart wrenching than
having the evidence excluded.
Avoid the unknowns of a voir
dire. When in doubt, disclose!
Chris Bentley, Legal Innovation
Zone (@Chris_Bentley) talked
about artificial intelligence and
the future of personal injury litigation.
As the first legal tech incubator,
Chris explained how the
savvy LIZ team and their partners
are developing fast, simple,
affordable decision-making techniques
and solutions to improve
legal services and the justice
system. To learn more about LIZ
and their affiliated startups visit
www.legalinnovationzone.ca
When the voyage through
cyberspace was complete, the
unplugged portion of the conference
took the audience back
to basics.
The Advocates’ Society welcomed
keynote speaker Erika
Chamberlain, Dean of Law
at of the University of Western
Ontario. Dean Chamberlain
took the audience on a journey
through the evolution of the
duty of care in negligence. Dean
Chamberlain discussed recent
trends in the law that suggest
that the courts may be moving
towards a more fact-specific or
category-based inquiry when
determining whether a duty of
care exists. For torts and other
sorts, follow Dean Chamberlain
at @lawdeanerika.
Last, but certainly not least, the
panel of @SCJOntario_en judges
(yes, the Ontario Superior Court
of Justice is on Twitter) gave novice
advocates trial tips (not tricks)
on qualifying an expert witness
and choosing the right expert.
Here are some key takeaways:
(1) Eliminate the guesswork.
Write out for the court the area
in which you seek to qualify your
expert and in which he or she will
give opinion evidence. (2) Forget
the fillers. From the moment
you choose your expert until the
moment you qualify him or her
at trial, focus in on education,
training and experience. If your
expert does not have the expertise
necessary to assist the court,
do not risk losing your case by
calling the expert anyway. Finally,
the panel was unanimous in
saying to all advocates: “get up
on your feet and try your cases”.
#nocomputersneeded
Another great day of learning
and collegiality at Tricks of the
Trade. See you next January!
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