Contact details

Telephone: +61 3 9225 6109
Email: travis.mitchell@vicbar.com.au
Fax: +61 3 9225 8485

Room 14.14 Castan Chambers
460 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne Vic 3000

Profile

Travis provides clear and accurate advice to allow clients to make fully informed decisions.

Travis appears in all jurisdictions in trials and appeals, with Senior Counsel or unled. He conducts litigation strategically to achieve commercial and practical results, recognising when resolving the problem will be better than winning an argument.

Through his experience in cases involving equitable issues, Travis is skilled at deploying equity in commercial disputes.

Travis’ clarity of thinking and persuasive legal reasoning are well-suited to appeals.  He is often briefed to advise on prospects of success and to appear in appeals.

Travis read with Samantha Marks SC.

Areas of Practice

Travis has recently advised or appeared in proceedings in which the following issues were involved.

Commercial/Property
Breach of contract, contractual interpretation, misleading or deceptive conduct, sale of land, leases, licences and franchise agreements, sale of business, joint venture disputes, debt recovery.

Corporations Act / ASIC Act – oppression, corporate governance, insolvency and external administration, managed investment scheme regulation, financial services regulation, misleading or deceptive conduct, company reinstatement, appeals against decisions of liquidators, waiver of irregularities.

Equity and trusts – undue influence, unconscionable dealing, estoppel, applications to remove a trustee, oppression in unit trusts, breach of confidence, Barnes v Addy claims, breach of fiduciary duties, subrogation, mistake, rectification of contracts, laches, election.

Appeals – in the Full Federal Court and in State Courts of Appeal, Travis has been briefed to advise and appear in appeals concerning estoppel, pre-emptive rights, breach of confidence, contracts, costs, discrimination, environment protection, administrative law and habeas corpus.

Administrative law – judicial review and merits review in many contexts: prisons and the Adult Parole Board, immigration, vocational training registration, housing, environment protection, planning.

Professional negligence – claims against builders, engineers, architects, accountants, auditors and solicitors.

Other Languages

Travis speaks and reads Mandarin.

After studying Chinese language, history and culture in Melbourne for 10 years, including Chinese legal translation at the University of Melbourne, Travis travelled to China to enhance his language skills. Travis lived in Beijing for one year while studying Chinese language at Beijing Normal University (北京师范大学）.

Travis has acted for several Chinese clients using his language skills and cultural understanding.

Appearances

Travis appeared in the following proceedings:

Solomon Lew & Ors v Adam Priester & Ors
A claim by Solomon Lew to beneficial ownership of loan accounts held by his children
(with Noel Magee QC) 

Sino Oakleigh International Development Pty Ltd v Mainland Projects (Oakleigh) Pty Ltd
A proceeding seeking winding up under the oppression provisions of the Corporations Act
(with Tony Nolan SC)

Vermillion Resources Pty Ltd v Gibbins Investments Pty Ltd
A Federal Court appeal raising equitable estoppel, laches, pre-emptive rights
(with Philip Crutchfield SC)

Kotzmann v Adult Parole Board of Victoria
A challenge to the constitutional validity of the Adult Parole Board of Victoria
(with Peter Hanks QC)

Vigliaroni & Ors v CPS Investment Holdings Pty Ltd & Ors
An oppression proceeding involving unit trusts
(with Noel Magee QC, Albert Monichino SC)

Brown v Forestry Tasmania
A Federal Court trial and an appeal seeking to protect Tasmanian forests under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act
(with Debbie Mortimer SC and Peter Tree SC) 

Nexus Adhesives Pty Ltd v RLA Polymers Pty Ltd
A Federal Court appeal on misuse of confidential information and costs 

Christodoulou v Christodoulou & Anor
A Supreme Court proceeding to set aside a gift to an elderly woman’s son on the basis of undue influence and unconscionable conduct

Ford Motor Company of Australia v Lo Presti
An appeal on costs in the Western Australian Court of Appeal

Zhang v University of Tasmania
An appeal to the Full Court of the Federal Court on imputed disability discrimination

Bridgman v Thompson
An appeal to the Supreme Court of Victoria relating to duties of trustees of a superannuation fund