What evidence will
help your case?
Welcome to ellwood Evidence Inc. - We provide digital forensics and litigation support services across Canada.
We are legal technology specialists. We are a 100% Canadian-owned company, based in Toronto.
iPhones and Android smartphones, Computers, Security Systems, Tablets, Photographs and Videos, Cloud-based social media services, Cloud-based file storage services, USB sticks and backups along with filing cabinets of paper and archive boxes - it's all potentially Evidence.
ellwood Evidence has expertise in the preservation, analysis, review and presentation of modern evidence.
Proactive collection & preservation can save you time and money: when a computer (especially a cellphone, smartphone or tablet) is on, it is actively overwriting the kinds of artifacts that might be critical to your case. Preserving early makes the examination more likely to succeed and can provide more valuable insights. Here is a more detailed discussion. We will work with you and your client to determine where the relevant evidence is and how best to preserve it, whatever it turns out to be.
Once relevant documents, invoices, spreadsheets, PDFs, emails, text messages, Facebook posts, and all other forms of digital and paper based evidence are gathered, it is time to use that evidence to develop and support your theory of the case.
Evidence is meaningless without someone qualified to explain its meaning. You need an analysis process that can withstand aggressive cross-examination. You need an expert that can effectively ask the right questions, gather the right answers and defend the process at every step.
Whether you are using an in-house review platform like iPro, CaseMap or a hosted platform like EDT or Relativity, the ellwood team can deliver the data to your review platform and support you through the process of efficiently reviewing the materials. If you don't have a review platform we can provide one for your use on a case by case basis. Your evidence at your fingertips, the productions of opposing counsel at your fingertips.
Sometimes technical evidence is… technical. But that doesn't mean the presentation can't be clear and accessible to every listener. We prepare our reports knowing the reader isn't a specialist. Our reports use the evidence to provide a fact-based narrative of events. Accessible, clear and accurate, whether in the written report or on the witness stand.
We also provide expert comment on the evidence presented by opposing counsel. Does the evidence they are providing actually mean what they say it means? Are there superior explanations? Are there errors in their work? We will sit beside you in court listening to the in-chief testimony and provide 'on the fly' explanations and assist you in developing your questions for cross.
“[Their] knowledge and ability to communicate difficult technical concepts is exceptional. Simply put, Mr. Ellwood and his team deliver on time, in a professional manner and always within budget… The reports prepared by Mr. Ellwood have all been completed in a timely fashion, comprehensive in scope and written in language that is understandable to judges, Crown Attorneys and defense lawyers' alike.”
Scott Bergman
“… Ellwood’s expert analysis and assistance in digital forensics fundamentally affected the outcome of the cases in significant ways, to the benefit of our clients…”
Ewan Lyttle B.A., LL.B, C.S.
"Working with him also raised the possibility of new arguments that I hadn't considered... It was very important that this service was available at legal aide rates and I could see where it would be very beneficial on future cases as well."
Jeff Carolin
"Almost immediately I received a pro bono review of the Crown's forensics. The [final] report surpassed my expectations."
Dan Johnson
“The staff and services of Ellwood Evidence Inc. are exceptional! Highly recommended!”
Christopher Tarach
We see a lot of interesting things, only some of which we can share. Here are some of our most recent favourites. You can search our archive or browse all.
We are regularly brought in for situations when an executive hops from one company to another, and takes data with them on the way out the door. Sometimes we conduct the internal investigation which uncovers the data theft (politely called data exfiltration), other times we assist with the clean-up.
Here is a story which, I hope, will illustrate how messy these clean-ups can be.
At the start of a matter, you need search, you need filters, you need to cut out the irrelevant and the chaff. Document review platforms are terrific for that - you can't live without them if you have more than 1,000 documents in your case. But once you get down to the relevant documents, get them OUT of your review platform and into a thinking platform.
I'm the guy that actually reads the insurance policy text. So, our policy renewal arrives in the mail yesterday and I read it.
The part about "Cyber Protection" catches my eye - we are in that business after all. Intact, our insurer, offers a program they have trademarked called "my Identity". Among other things it includes up to $25K for Cyber Protection. What's that?, you might well ask….
Knowing "What" is important. It is a 'necessary but not sufficient' condition to take a page from our mathematician friends. It is finding out the "Why" that is reason for our investigations. And yet so many investigations stop short and simply present the "What".
Let me explain.
We've noticed a pattern.
When a case might settle why should you spend money preparing the evidence? Perhaps just inexpensive 'bluster' will win the day and with less spend on the case everyone is happy. The trouble is when opposing counsel calls your bluff or bluster fails…
These are only our most recent posts. Browse our archive.
We are committed to the development of the forensic community and use and contribute to a wide-range of open-source tools. We are certified in standard investigative methods & tools used by police departments and institutions around the world. Industry certifications validate the knowledge and capability methods and tools, like those below. Read more about the benefits of certification in one of our articles.
![Certified Forensic Security Responder (CFSR) [In Progress]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/511d6cd9e4b04b471a7bdd63/1574893696179-T7J1I2LSG1EGVCZO0IW2/opentext-ot-cfsr-seal.png)
