Travis is a litigator and appellate attorney who represents clients in wide range of complex, high-stakes litigation. His clients often face significant personal injury and wrongful death claims, consumer class actions, state attorney general matters, and general commercial litigation. Travis frequently represents designers, manufacturers, and distributors of products ranging from automobiles to medical devices to outdoor power equipment. He often advises clients in the agriculture, construction, and retail industries.
In addition to representing clients in federal and state courts across the country, Travis advises clients on strategic risk management, particularly as to structuring relationships with business partners, customers, and employees.
Travis dedicates significant time to representing individuals on a pro bono basis, typically in criminal matters pending in Virginia appellate courts. This pro bono representation includes a win for our client in the United States Supreme Court, Collins v. Virginia, No. 16-1027 (U.S. 2018).
Before joining McGuireWoods, Travis was a judicial law clerk for the Honorable LeRoy F. Millette, Jr., of the Supreme Court of Virginia.
General
- National litigation counsel for a leading manufacturer of outdoor power tool equipment.
- Briefed numerous cases in federal and state appellate courts on issues such as class action certification, civil and appellate procedure, constitutional law, consumer deception, criminal law, statutory claims, and tort law. Argued several cases in Virginia appellate courts.
- Advises employers, manufacturers, and distributors on structuring contractual and warranty terms to help manage litigation risk.
Class Actions
- Represented several retailers and product manufacturers facing copycat class action litigation raising novel theories under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.
- Defended a Fortune 150 retailer against class actions and state attorneys general actions over allegedly deceptive motor oil labeling in over 20 state and federal courts.
- Represented multinational cement and ready-mix concrete business in class action litigation filed in multiple federal courts alleging defective concrete.
Contract Disputes
- Obtained dismissal with prejudice on contract and conspiracy claims seeking over $100,000,000 against a Virginia locality in Virginia state court.
- Secured reversal of adverse arbitration decisions in employment litigation against Fortune 150 retailer in California Courts of Appeal.
Product Liability
- Obtained defense jury verdict on product liability claims against outdoor power equipment manufacturer in Pennsylvania state court.
- Secured dismissals on personal jurisdiction grounds for product designers and manufacturers in state and federal courts, both at the trial and appellate level.
- Achieved summary judgment on product liability claims in workplace injury litigation against outdoor power equipment manufacturer in New York state court.
- Obtained voluntary dismissal in toxic tort litigation against product manufacturers in various state courts, including Illinois and New York.
Other Personal Injury and Tort
- Obtained defense jury verdict on wrongful death claims against head workplace contractor in New Mexico state court.
- Achieved summary judgment on tort claims in workplace injury litigation against landowner in Maryland state court.
- Represented international agricultural company in mass nuisance litigation in federal court, including fact and expert discovery and other pretrial workup.
- Achieved summary judgment on punitive damage claims in nuisance litigation against dairy farmers in New Mexico state court.
Events
- Faculty, "Strategies and Tactical Considerations When Seeking Early Dismissal of Class Allegations at Pleading Stage," Striking Class Allegations Pre-Certification: Legal Standards, Grounds to Strike, Recent Trends, Best Practices, Strafford CLE Webinar, December 14, 2023
- Speaker, "Magnuson-Moss Information Session," In-house industry organization, August 31, 2022
- Speaker, Using Contracts to Avoid Problematic Jurisdictions and Unfavorable Law, April 29, 2021
Insights
- Author, Uber’s Challenge to Non-Individual PAGA Standing Crashes at the California Supreme Court, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, July 18, 2023
- Author, Date of Delivery, Not Sale: California Imposes New Requirement for Consumer Products Warranties, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, April 17, 2023
- Author, 8th Circuit Confirms: No Anti-Removal Presumption Applies Under Class Action Fairness Act, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, January 25, 2023
- Author, U.S. Supreme Court: Individual PAGA Claim Must Cruise Into Arbitration, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, June 15, 2022
- Author, "Consumer Contract Terms Offer Cos. Arbitration Alternatives," Law360, July 1, 2021
- Author, Using Contracts to Avoid Problematic Jurisdictions and Unfavorable Law, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, May 24, 2021
- Co-author, Justices May Clarify Personal Jurisdiction Online In Ford Suits, Law360, November 11, 2020
- Author, "Maximizing Defense Advantages In Jurisdictional Discovery," Law360, May 21, 2020
- Author, The Fourteenth Amendment: A Structural Waiver of State Sovereign Immunity From Constitutional Tort Suits, 35 N. Ill. U. L. Rev. 71, 2014
- Author, Knowledge is Power: The Fundamental Right to Record Present Observations in Public, 64 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 1409, 2013
Selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Appellate Practice, 2021-2025