Key takeaways from eDiscovery Convergence 2025

This week, Davies' Marta Young and Michael Lalande co-presented at eDiscovery Convergence 2025 on a panel titled "Document Review: Defensibility, Strategy and the Human Element." The discussion focused on how the new Ontario Civil Rules reforms will impact eDiscovery, particularly by front-loading much of the work related to identification, collection and, more significantly, review. While the goals behind these reforms are commendable, the practical realities may prove to be far more complex.

The panel also explored how emerging GenAI tools can support, or potentially strain, these new workflows. Key themes from the discussion included the following:

• GenAI prompt engineering requires both legal and technical expertise;
• validation and human oversight remain non-negotiable;
• defensibility is evolving, especially as GenAI prompts, models and workflows become integral to the eDiscovery process; and
• GenAI tools won’t automatically reduce costs – in fact, they may introduce new ones.

Top Takeaways from the Panel Discussion:

• Legal teams should begin experimenting with GenAI, but carefully.
• Start small, validate relentlessly and understand your risk tolerance.
• Above all, the human element remains central; GenAI is a tool to enhance judgment, not replace it.