35th Annual Buffalo Law Review Dinner

Trini E. Ross ‘92 is a Partner at Harter, Secrest & Emery LLP, where she chairs the Government and Internal Investigations Practice Group. Between October 2021 and February 2025, she was the Presidentially appointed, U.S. Senate-confirmed (unanimously) U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York, leading more than 100 attorneys and staff at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and handling a number of national and international high-profile cases.

As U.S. Attorney, Ross was selected to be a member of the Attorney General Advisory Committee, a small group of U.S. Attorneys who worked with the Attorney General to advise on Department of Justice policies, regulations, and initiatives. She was also selected to chair the subcommittee on Law Enforcement, Victims’ Rights, and Community Outreach and served as a member of several additional subcommittees.

Ross has more than two decades of experience leading high-level and complex investigations and litigating cases in federal district court on a multitude of issues, including those which are sensitive in nature.

In addition to her role as a U.S. Attorney, Ms. Ross has served as:

• Director of the Office of Investigations, Legal Division, for the National Science Foundation, Office of Inspector General;
• Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the Western District of New York, where she held leadership roles as the Deputy Chief of the White Collar and General Crimes Section, Chief of the Antifraud and Corruption Section, and Senior Litigation Counsel; and
• Assistant Counsel in the Office of Professional Responsibility with the Department of Justice.

Ross obtained her law degree, with honors, from UB School of Law, a master’s degree from Rutgers University, and a bachelors’ degree from SUNY Fredonia. She is also a certified Fraud Examiner by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

Ross is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Kay Crawford Murray Award from the New York State Bar Association; the Lawyer of the Year Award from the Bar Association of Erie County; the Arc Bender’s Award from the Arc of Justice; and the Distinguished Alumni Award from UB School of Law. She is often called upon to make presentations at conferences across the country.

Ross is also involved in many community activities, was a co-chair of Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan’s transition team, and is a member of the law school’s Dean’s Advisory Counsel.

Brian D. Gwitt ’98 is partner at Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP and serves as the Chair of the firm’s Litigation Department and its General Counsel. Mr. Gwitt was previously a partner at Damon Morey LLP (now Barclay Damon) and Ice Miller LLP located in Indianapolis, IN. He also served as a Confidential Law Clerk to the Hon. Michael B. Thornton for the United States Tax Court.

Mr. Gwitt is an experienced trial lawyer whose practice focuses on business and commercial litigation, including contract disputes, Uniform Commercial Code, corporate governance, intellectual property/trade secret litigation and commercial real estate litigation. He has also handled multiple securities disputes and has assisted clients with responding to United States Securities and Exchange Commission investigations and representing brokers and investors in arbitration proceedings before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Mr. Gwitt has successfully handled multiple jury and non-jury trials and arbitrations through verdict. He has a multi-jurisdictional practice and has appeared in federal and state courts in New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, California, Florida, Texas, Utah, Vermont and other states.

For approximately the past 10 years, Mr. Gwitt, along with his law partner and fellow UB Law alumni, William F. Savino, has presented the annual New York CPLR Update to the Erie County Bar Association program. He has also served as an instructor on a variety of litigation and trial issues.

Mr. Gwitt served on the Board for the UB Law Alumni Association from 2006 to 2017 and was President of the UB Law Alumni Association from 2016 to 2017. He also chaired the inaugural UB Law Alumni Past Presidents Committee. Mr. Gwitt currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Buffalo Toronto Public Media. He previously served as a Director of the United Way for Buffalo and Erie County, where he sat on the Executive Committee and chaired the Advocacy Committee. A father of five, Mr. Gwitt has been active in youth sports and has coached various basketball, baseball and soccer teams.

Mr. Gwitt graduated summa cum laude from the State University of New York at Fredonia, with double majors in political science and criminal justice. Mr. Gwitt graduated magna cum laude from UB Law. During law school, Mr. Gwitt served as the Executive Editor of the Buffalo Law Review and as the lead attorney for UB Law’s National Trial Team.