Digital Litigation: The Future of Law Firms in New Zealand?

The Higher Courts have recently introduced a Civil Electronic Document Protocol (12 April 2016) as a guide to Counsel and the Courts. The Protocol is intended to encourage and facilitate the use of electronic documents for civil cases in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

The Protocol is perhaps the first steps in moving towards an electronic future where all filing an case preparation is done electronically. Under the Protocol parties are expected to prepare an electronic case book that is consistent with the Protocol’s format requirements.

The protocol will allow counsel to file electronic submissions and authorities that are hyperlinked to the record. This will result in an expedient and straight-forward exchange of information between the parties and the Court. We see this as a positive step for our clients as it is expected to decrease the costs involved in litigation in the Higher Courts.

As a technologically advanced firm we are ready to embrace the new protocol and are taking all the steps available to educate ourselves. For more information on the Protocol please contact us at Canterbury Legal.

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