PwC Canada acquires Platinum Legal Group

Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP (PwC Canada) announced on Monday that it had acquired the Platinum Legal Group (PLG), one of Canada’s leading electronic discovery and litigation support firms. Led by William Platt, PLG will join PwC’s Toronto office, but will continue servicing clients in Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver.

PLG specializes in electronic evidence management in litigation, competition and investigative matters, PwC noted in a press release. The acquisition will strengthen PwC’s Forensic Technology Service capabilities in the areas of discovery, data recovery, data analysis, and review of electronic data, the release added. Currently, PwC offers a full complement of services from the PwC Forensic Lab including: discovery readiness assessment, investigative analytics, cyber and social network investigations, digital forensics, eDiscovery, and evidence management services.

The Forensic Technology Service said on its website that the following questions would help organizations to determine the benefits of the service:

• Does your organization face frequent litigation?

• How does your legal team ensure that the right information is found and available? Can you manage large volumes of potentially relevant information?

• How prepared are you to respond to an insider threat, fraud, or theft of sensitive information?

• Do you know what your social media reputation is?

• Can you quickly detect when hackers have compromised your social media accounts?

• Are you retaining and deleting the right data? and

• Are you monitoring when data leaves your network?

“We are pleased to welcome Platinum Legal Group to our growing forensics practice,” Lori-Ann Beausoleil (pictured left), PwC Canada’s national forensics co-leader, said in the release. “Their expertise compliments our experience in data acquisition and analysis allowing us to expand our evidence management and e-discovery offering.”

William Platt, PwC partner, eDiscovery litigation support, added that combining PLG’s 13+ years of experience in eDiscovery and litigation support with PwC’s forensic presence will allow for increased service offerings across Canada. “I am excited to be joining a team of leaders and innovators in electronic evidence management,” he said.

PwC consists of more than 5,800 partners and staff in offices across the country, dealing with issues involving assurance, tax, consulting and deals services. PwC Canada is a member of the PwC network of firms, with more than 195,000 people in 157 countries.

We have strengthened our #forensic services by acquiring the leading #eDiscovery firm Platinum Legal Group http://t.co/3mCzwZ2uFm

— PwC Canada LLP (@PwC_Canada_LLP) March 16, 2015