About Martin Felsky, PhD, JD

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 currently active on the Ontario Digital Evidence and eDiscovery Working Group. 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 the author of several Canadian Judicial Council publications including the Blueprint for the Security of Judicial Information (now in its fifth edition). The Blueprint has been implemented in every Canadian superior court. He provides legal, policy and technical advice to courts across Canada on the issues of information governance including cybersecurity and privacy, and he is considered an expert on judicial independence.

 As co-founder and former CEO of a leading litigation support service provider, Martin has ten years of hands-on business experience that many of his clients appreciate. He has acted as Chief Privacy Officer for two companies and advises major public and private sector clients across Canada on compliance with information laws and managing digital evidence for legal proceedings.

Martin has been recognized in the 2019 Who's Who Legal: Thought Leaders Litigation and was referred to as "the Dean of eDiscovery lawyers in Canada" by Who's Who Legal since 2015. He was Chair of the Board of the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII), which provides free access to legal precedents.

Martin has traveled extensively, speaking by invitation to groups of lawyers and judges in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Germany, Switzerland, South Africa, and throughout the United States and Canada.

Education
  • J.D., Law, University of Toronto, 1983
  • Ph.D., English, University of Toronto, 1980
  • M.A., English, York University, 1978
  • B.A., English, Dalhousie University, 1974
  • Called to the Bar of Ontario, 1985

Professional Involvement
  • Canadian Judicial Council, Senior Adviser, Information Management
  • Judges Technology Advisory Committee, Canadian Judicial Council
  • Sedona Conference Canada Working Group 7 - Charter Member; Steering Committee Member (2019-20)
  • Task Force on The Discovery Process in Ontario - Member
  • Nova Scotia Supreme Court Civil Procedure Rules Disclosure Committee - Adviser, 2009-2012
  • Canadian Law Information Council - Director, Law and Technology, 1985-1988
  • Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) - Director, 2010-2017, Chair of the Board to 2016
  • Digital Evidence and eDiscovery Working Group
  • Uniform Law Conference of Canada Electronic Document Rules Working Group
  • Canadian General Standards Board Committee (on the admissibility of digital evidence) - Member, 2014-2015
Speaker, Author, and in the News: Select Bibliography
  1. "Computers in Legal Education - The Canadian Experience" (Council of Europe, 1985; [1987] 3 Yearbook of Computers Law and Technology)
  2. "Evaluating Legal Information Systems" (1985) 18 Law/Technology
  3. The CLIC guide to computer-assisted legal research, 1986, Canadian Law Information Council (Ottawa) 
  4. The CLIC bibliography of computers and law 1983-1986, edited by Martin Felsky; Ottawa: Canadian Law Information Council, 1987. 
  5. "Major Developments in Computer-Assisted Legal Research in Canada" Papers presented at the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) General Conference (53rd, Brighton, England, August 16-21, 1987).
  6. "Enlightenment at the Speed of Information" (CALL) [1988]
  7. "The Research Department as a Profit Centre" [1988]
  8. "The Legal Liability of Information Professionals" (The Online Searcher)  [1990]
  9. "Learning How to Use Online Systems" [1991]
  10. "Selecting Software for Your Brief Bank" (CSALT 1992)
  11. "Books or Bytes - The New Face of Legal Research" (Carswell, 1992)
  12. "Building Internal Databases with External Information," Computers in Libraries Canada, [1993]
  13. "Use of Computers on the Bench" (CSALT 1993)
  14. "Canadian Legal Databases" (Database 1993)
  15. "CD-ROM and Online Resources for Litigators", Canadian Bar Association-Ontario [1994]
  16. "Litigation in the Electronic Age" McGill University, Montreal [1994]
  17. "Electronic Discovery" Canadian Bar Association-Ontario [1994]
  18. "Discovery of Electronic Documents in Litigation" Presented at Legal Tech convention in Chicago [1994]
  19. "Automated Work Product Retrieval Systems" (Presented at Legal Tech conventions in New York and again in Los Angeles) [1994]
  20. "Malpractice at the Reference Desk," OCULA [1994]
  21. "Legal Research in Cyberspace: The Global. Library'' presented at the Canadian Bar Association-Ontario in Toronto - The Internet and the Lawyer Conference [1996]
  22. "Planning for: Technology" presented to the Canadian Bar Association - Ontario [1996]
  23. 'The Future of Word Processing," Lawyers Weekly [1996]
  24. "Looking Ahead: The New Legal Enterprise" presented at the annual CALL (Canadian Association of Law Libraries) Conference in Kingston, Ontario [1996]
  25. "Internet: Trends in Technology" presented at Canadian Bar Association Midwinter Meeting (outline only), [1996]
  26. "Selecting Litigation Support Software", Technology and the Trial Lawyer, presented to Canadian Bar Association -Ontario, Toronto [1997]
  27. "How Many Lawyers Use Their Computers?" Lawyers Weekly [1997]
  28. "Corel WordPerfect 8 Hits the Suite Spot," Lawyers Weekly [1997]
  29. "Twenty Questions for your Litigation Support Software," Lawyers Weekly [1997]
  30. "Looking Out for Outlook: The PIM of the Future?" Lawyers Weekly [1997]
  31. "Getting Lawyers to Use Computers" presented to TLOMA conference - Toronto Law Office Managers Association [1997]
  32. "Talk is Cheap - The Uses of Voice Dictation," Lawyers Weekly [1997]
  33. “Case Law Citation in Canada: Proposals for Reform” Presented at The Official Version, A National Summit to Solve the Problems of Authenticating, Preserving and Citing Legal Information in Digital Form , Toronto, [November 20-22 1997]
  34. "The Berger Affair and the Independence of the Judiciary" 1997 University of Toronto Faculty of Law Review 
  35. "E-Mail is More than Messaging" Lawyers Weekly [1998]
  36. "From Page to Paragraph: The Evolution of Case Law Formatting and Citation in Canada": September 1998 issue of the Law Librarian, a publication of the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians
  37. "Technology and The Law Societies" - Keynote address (html presentation) presented to the annual meeting of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, in St. John's Newfoundland [1998]
  38. "Top Ten Technologies for Lawyers" [1998]
  39. "Contact Mismanagement," Lawyers Weekly [1998]
  40. "Litigation Technology for Corporate Counsel" presented by invitation to law department members from various Toronto insurance companies and bank law departments [1998]
  41. "Canada at the ABA TechShow," Lawyers Weekly [1998]
  42. "Aspects of Portability for Lawyers", Presented to the Canadian Bar Association-Ontario Practice Management Section, [1998]
  43. "How to Become a Legal Road Warrior: Technology for the Lawyer on the Go [1998]
  44. "Essential Bookmarks: Web Sites You Absolutely Need for Your Library" Presented to the Canadian Bar Association 1998 Institute Young Lawyers Technology Breakfast Sizzler Program
  45. "Are Spreadsheets Safe?" for Lawyers Weekly [1998]
  46. “How Canada Rewrote the Law,” delivered at Challenges to Tradition - Law and Knowledge for the New Millennium, New Zealand Law Librarians Conference, Auckland, [March 1998]
  47. “Cite Unseen: Cyberspace has given birth to a new standard for electronic case reference and citation”. National, [1999]
  48. “Treating Technology as an Investment” [1999]
  49. “On work product retrieval systems - asking the hard questions”, CBA-BCA/ALL conference in Vancouver on [April 15, 1999]
  50. Canadian Online Information Summit 99. Toronto - "A Week in the Life of Martin Felsky" [1999]
  51. "Evaluating the Cost of IT Projects" - ABA TechShow [1999] (Chicago)
  52. "Web Security Affects Us All," Lawyers Weekly
  53. "Current Trends and Future Challenges" Canadian Bar Association - Alberta Midwinter, Edmonton.
  54. "Acrobatics with Adobe" LegalTech Toronto, November 13, 2002.
  55. “My Wallpaper is the British Library, but My Home Page is Google,” Presentation to the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, [November 2005] (Ottawa)
  56. “Making and Responding to e-Discovery Requests” by Martin Felsky and Peg Duncan, LawPRO [September 2005]
  57. “The Impact of Electronic Discovery on the Management of Business Information in Canada”, CALL [2006] (Edmonton)
  58. “E-Discovery: A Practical Blueprint for Success,” (with Pam Fontaine), Legal Education Society of Alberta (LESA) (Calgary) [2006]
  59. “Going Electronic Without Going Broke”:  Canadian Superior Courts Judges Association, the CBA Judges’ Forum and the Canadian Association of Provincial Court Judges [August 2006] (St John’s)
  60. "Electronic Discovery: The Nuts & Bolts of Litigating in Today's Electronic World," Canadian Defence Lawyers Annual Meeting, Toronto, may 31, 2007.
  61. “The Sedona Canada Principles in Relation to Records Management”, AIIM (Calgary) [Nov 2007]
  62. “The Impact of Sedona on Records Management in Canada” ARMA (Calgary) [Nov 2007]
  63. Quoted in “Niche developing for e-discovery specialists,” by Helen Burnett, Canadian Lawyer, March 2008
  64. Presentation, First Annual Sedona Canada Program on “Getting Ahead of the eDiscovery Curve” [October 2008]
  65. Author, “Unplugging the Courtroom: A Canadian Judicial Council policy offers courts guidance on wireless issues.” Canadian Bar Association National, September 2009.
  66. Blueprint for the Security of Judicial Information 3d edition [2009], used across Canada to assess and implement IT security for Canadian courts
  67. “Ten Things Judges Can Do Now to Improve the Security of Judicial Data” (4th Edition), [2009]
  68. “Secure Social Networking” [2009]
  69. Quoted in “Judges get with the times on information security” by Luigi Benetton, The Lawyers Weekly, September 4, 2009.
  70. “The Impact of Electronic Discovery on Law Firm IT,” Toronto Law Office Managers Association (TLOMA), [Nov 2009]
  71. “Electronic Discovery and Records Management in the Government of Alberta,” Service Alberta, [April 2010] (Edmonton)
  72. “Canadian Approach to Electronic Discovery for US Attorneys” – Podcast, [Sep 2010] for Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists
  73. “An Introduction to E-Discovery and its Impact on Trials”, CCCT Forum Panel, [Sep 2010] (Ottawa) For video presentation see http://ccct-cctj.ca/subscribers/video-recordings-2011-02-08/an-introduction-to-e-discovery-and-its-impact-on-trials/ 
  74. “Whose Information is it Anyway?” CCCT Forum Panel, [Sep 2010] (Ottawa) For video presentation see http://ccct-cctj.ca/subscribers/video-recordings-2011-03-01/whose-information-is-it-anyway/ 
  75. “Creating and Executing a Winning Discovery Plan” Commonwealth Legal Conference (Blue Mountain, Ontario) [Sep 2010] 
  76. Guest Lecturer on “Records and Evidence Management Law”, Université de Montréal, Faculté de droit, Graduate class (Montreal) [Sep 2010]
  77. “Admissibility of electronic evidence” – Commonwealth Legal seminars for corporate counsel, Toronto and Calgary [February, March 2011]
  78. “Evidence 101 and what CGSB compliance really means,” presentation for Service Alberta (Edmonton) [December 13, 2011]
  79. “Electronic Disclosure and Discovery - Where Variety is the Strife of Life” (panel) - Canadian Bar Association, Nova Scotia Branch (Halifax) [January 27, 2012]
  80. "The Potentials and Pitfalls of Big Data" April 25, 2012, Government of Alberta
  81. “Social Media as Evidence,” Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba Education Seminar (Winnipeg) [April 26 - 27, 2012]
  82. “Do You Trust Electronic Documents?” University of Alberta Access and Privacy Conference (Edmonton) [June 13, 14 and 15, 2012]
  83. Quoted in “Forensic investigators invited to meet and confer,” by Judy van Rhijn, Law Times, July 30, 2012.
  84. Quoted in "Litigation support software conundrum" by Kevin Marron, Canadian Lawyer, October 2012.
  85. "Addressing the Challenges of Court Technology," Educational Forum to Honour Chief Justice Scott, February 8, 2013 (Winnipeg)
  86. "Defensible Deletion" and "Signed Sealed and Delivered - E-Signatures" presented to GoA for Service Alberta, February 14, 2013 (Edmonton)
  87. TeDCAN, "Ontario - The Law of E-Discovery", February 19, 2013
  88. Quoted in "DIY e-discovery still possible, but with limits," Lawyers Weekly Magazine, March 15, 2013.
  89. Lancaster House Human Rights Conference, Toronto, "Computer Use and Privacy: Changes in technology, digital cultures, and the Supreme Court's decision in R. v. Cole", April 4, 2013
  90. Lancaster House Conference, "Out of the Shadows: The emerging shape of privacy rights in the workplace," Ottawa, May 17, 2013.
  91. AIIM, Electronic Discovery - "Is the Tail Wagging the Records Management Dog?" Edmonton, November 26, 2013.
  92. AIIM, "The three essential building blocks of data integrity." Edmonton, November 26, 2013.
  93. Commonwealth Legal "Technology in Practice" 2014, Toronto, November 2014.
  94. Canadian Bar Association, "Evidence in the Digital Era" (Webinar), January 2015.
  95. BC Law Managers Association, "Ethics in E-Discovery," Vancouver (via web conference), February 18, 2014.
  96. "How to Build a Business Case for Going Paperless." Calgary, February 25, 2015.
  97. "Discovery Planning: Key issues and Strategies." Toronto, April 14, 2015.
  98. "Litigation Preparedness for Corporate Lawyers: e-Discovery, Information Governance and More." October 26-27, 2015 19th annual Canadian IT Law Association Conference, Toronto. 
  99. Commonwealth Legal Technology in Practice, November 4-6, Toronto. Moderator for two sessions: Discovery Plans Meet Discovery Realities: Is Proportionality Eroding the Purpose of Discovery? and eTrials: Sooner Than You Think?
  100. Law via the Internet, 9-11 November, 2015 Sydney Australia, Chair, Plenary Session - The media and free access to legal information.
  101. Ottawa Association of Law Clerks, 4 December 2015, Social Media in Litigation: Prospects and Pitfalls.
  102. Continuing Legal Education BC, "Nature and Sources of Electronic Evidence:" Vancouver British Columbia,  October 14, 2016.
  103. Commonwealth Legal, Technology in Practice 2016, November 2-4, 2016 Toronto ON. Moderator - "Legal Operations 2.0 - The New Norm."
  104. Advocates' Society, Annual Conference, Nassau Bahamas, "Artificial Intelligence. My Lawyer is a Robot: Govern Yourself Accordingly" November 8, 2019.
  105. Western Legal Innovation Forum, November 25-26 2020, "Defining, developing and executing an impactful legal technology strategy".
  106. "Cost-effective document disclosure in arbitration", Daily Commercial News, Journal of Commerce, November 30, 2020.
  107. Lecture on judicial technology, University of Calgary Faculty of Law, February 25, 2021.
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