Keith E. W. Mitchell

Keith has advised clients in the education sector about school, labour and employment law for more than 25 years. He works with school boards, colleges and university educators and administrators to help them with the full range of legal problems they face, including labour and employment, education, human rights claims, privacy issues and dealing with students and parents.

In addition to his work in education, Keith’s diverse background has had him advising clients in many sectors including high tech, charities, banking, forestry and credit unions. He also has experience in commercial litigation, arbitration and international trade.

Keith has argued cases in all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada, as well as before arbitration panels, the Human Rights Tribunal, the College of Teachers and the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia. He has appeared as counsel in International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) international arbitrations to resolve disputes arising under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Keith’s approach is to achieve the best result possible in as efficient a way as can be done, without incurring unnecessary expense for the client. He believes in providing proactive advice before decisions are made so as to minimize the risk of a matter proceeding to court or arbitration.

Before joining Harris, Keith was a law clerk to Mr. Justice LaForest at the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa.