Kelly Friedman

Biography

Kelly Friedman has a versatile commercial litigation background, with a focus on shareholders' disputes, oppression proceedings, commercial fraud, contract interpretation and class actions. She also has expertise in regulatory law, with an emphasis on the energy sector, having appeared before the Ontario Energy Board and the Ontario courts regarding the regulation of Ontario's electricity industry.

Ms. Friedman is the current Chair of the Steering Committee of Sedona Canada, the non-profit group responsible for The Sedona Canada Principles, electronic discovery principles which are incorporated by reference into the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure.

Ms Friedman has acted in class actions in the electricity, telecommunications and gas sectors, including appearing before the Supreme Court of Canada.

Year of Call

• Ontario Bar 1996

Law School

• LL.B., University of Toronto, 1994

EDUCATION

• B.Com., McGill University, 1991

Selected Client Work

Clients for whom Ms. Friedman has acted include:

• Toronto Hydro in class action proceedings impugning the late payment policies of electricity distributors in which both a defendant and plaintiff class have been proposed 
• Ontario's electricity distributors in a class action against the former Ontario Hydro
• Bell Canada International Inc. in the defence of three class proceedings involving securities and oppression issues
• Toronto Hydro as an intervener before the Supreme Court of Canada in a challenge to gas distributors' late payment policies based on the Criminal Code

Publications

• "Electronic Evidence at Trial," The Advocates Quarterly, November 2009.
• "Protecting Privilege and Your Pocket Book in E-Discovery"  (co-author: Chuck Rothman) in Leg@l TI - Droit et Technologies de l'information, Association du jeune Barreau de Montréal, Éditions Yvon Blais, 2008.
• Introduction to E-Discovery in Canada, LexisNexis Canada, 2008.
• "Someone Else's E-Discovery Nightmare," Slaw, September 2007.
• "E-Mail Retention: Striking the Right Balance," Counsel to Counsel, September 2006.

Speaking Engagements

• "Lessons Learned from U.S. and Cross-Border Discovery," Law Tech Canada, November 16-17, 2009.
• "Document Retention, Destruction, Production," (co-lecturer), Managing the Liability Risk of In-House Counsel, October 21-22, 2009.
• "Practicalities of Managing Class Actions Litigation and Conducting E-Discovery," (panellist), 10th Annual National Forum on Class Actions Litigation, The Canadian Institute, September 23-24, 2009.
• "Managing the Costs of Collection and Processing of E-Discovery," Getting Ahead of the E-Discovery Curve, 2nd Annual Sedona Canada Conference, The Sedona Canada Institute, September 16, 2009.
• "Obtaining, Producing and Presenting Electronic Evidence at Trial," (course leader and presenter), Osgoode Hall - York University, June 10-11, 2009.
• "Avoiding E-Discovery Obstacles and Cost Overruns", 5th Advanced Forum on Commercial and Civil Litigation, Finding Your Way Through the Ontario Courts' 2010 Odyssey, Insight Information, May 28-29, 2009.
• "Avoiding the Risks in Electronic Discovery - Litigation Readiness," (co-speaker), Managing Information in the Public Sector - Meeting the Challenge, Ontario Public Sector Information Management Conference, Toronto, April 28-29, 2009.
• "Recent Developments in Contract Law," Negotiating and Drafting Major Business Agreements, Insight Information, February 2-3, 2009.
• "Contract Interpretation - Recent Developments in Contract Law, Negotiating and Drafting Major Business Agreements," Major Business Agreements, Insight Information, December 5, 2008.
• "Complex Litigation:  Multi-party, Multi-Jurisdictional, Class Actions and Other Complications," Getting Ahead of the E-Discovery Curve, 1st Annual Sedona Canada Conference, The Sedona Canada Institute, October 23-24, 2008.
• "The Sedona Principles Addressing Electronic Document Production," The Sedona Canada Institute Conference, May 8, 2008.
• "Successfully Asserting and Protecting Privilege in E-Discovery," 3rd Annual Forum on E-Document Management and Discovery, The Canadian Institute, March 4-5, 2008.
• "How to Develop and Implement and Electronic Document Retention Policy that Works for Your Company," (Chairperson), Document Retention and E-Discovery - Best Practices for Canadian Corporations, Marcus Evans Conference, October 20, 2006.
• "Optimizing Your Protocols for Effective E-Data Management," (Chairperson), The Legal and Strategic Guide to E-Discovery, March 28-29, 2006.
  

Media Highlights

• "Records Management Key To Navigating Lawsuits," National Post, July 7, 2010.
• "The E-discovery Shift," Canadian Lawyer InHouse, June 1, 2010.
• "New Rules Require 'Cultural Shift'," Law Times, March 15, 2010.
• "New Rules Give Business a Break On Discovery," Law Times, October 19, 2009.
• "The Age Of E-discovery," Lawyers Weekly, May 1, 2009.
• "Retaining e-Documents Without Losing Your Mind," Canadian Lawyer In-House, August 1, 2008.
• "Meta What?," Canadian Lawyer, July 1, 2008.

Memberships and Activities

• The Sedona Conference
• Working Group 6 (International Electronic Information Management, Discovery and Disclosure)
• Chair, Steering Committee, Sedona Canada
• Lead editor of Canada section of Working Group 6 wiki (http://www.socialtext.net/wg-6/index.cgi)
• Working Group 7 (Sedona Canada)
• Law Society of Upper Canada
• The Advocates' Society
• Canadian Bar Association