Litigation Branch Evaluation Final Report

1. Introduction

Under the authority granted by the Department of Justice Act, the Attorney General of Canada (AGC) has responsibility for all litigation for or against the Crown, any department, or Crown agent corporations Footnote 1. The litigation function within the Department of Justice is handled by the Litigation Branch at headquarters, the regional offices, and some specialized Departmental Legal Services Units (DLSUs). The Assistant Deputy Attorney General Litigation (ADAG Litigation) has functional and coordination responsibility for all litigation conducted by or on behalf of the Department of Justice.

The focus of this evaluation is on the activities of the Litigation Branch, including the ADAG Litigation’s coordination and approval function through the National Litigation Committee (NLC). The work of the Litigation Branch includes specialized units, namely the work of the National Security Group (NSG), the International Assistance Group (IAG), the Civil Litigation Section (CLS), the Management of Class Actions and Mass Litigation Unit (MCAMLU), the Litigation Practice Management Centre (LPMC), and the National eDiscovery and Litigation Support Services. Other evaluations address civil litigation in the context of the Department’s portfolio structure.

This document constitutes the final report for the evaluation of the Litigation Branch, which was conducted between September 2013 and January 2015. This is the first evaluation of the Litigation Branch.

1.1. Purpose of the Evaluation

In accordance with the Treasury Board Secretariat’s 2009 Policy on Evaluation, the primary purpose of this evaluation was to assess the relevance and performance of the Litigation Branch. In terms of relevance, the evaluation considered the continued need for the Litigation Branch and the alignment of Litigation Branch activities with government priorities, departmental strategic outcomes, and federal roles and responsibilities. With regard to performance, the evaluation considered both effectiveness (i.e., the extent to which the Branch has achieved its objectives) and efficiency and economy (i.e., the degree to which appropriate and efficient means are being employed to achieve the desired outcomes).

The evaluation covers the Litigation Branch’s work between fiscal years 2008/09 and 2013/14. The Department of Justice Evaluation Division directed the evaluation, and the Evaluation Working Group (an advisory group with representatives from the Litigation Branch and regional offices) provided ongoing input into the evaluation.

1.2. Structure of the Report

This report contains six sections, including the introduction. Section 2 provides the background on the Litigation Branch, describing its structure, resources and services; Section 3 explains the methodology used in the evaluation; Section 4 summarizes the key findings; Section 5 presents the conclusions; and Section 6 contains the recommendations and management response.