Bradley M. Gayton '91
Bradley M. Gayton ’91 rose to the top ranks of the global Ford Motor Co., headquartered in Dearborn, Mich., becoming group vice president, chief administrative officer and general counsel, capping a career there spanning 27 years.
About this Interview
Interview Date(s)
April 6, 2018
Occasion
Recipient of Distinguished Alumnus Award for exemplary performance in business at the 56th Annual Alumni Dinner
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About Bradley M. Gayton
Gayton met his wife at UB as undergraduates. He has been married for 30 years and has three daughters. They were married right before he started law school, and his wife followed the next year. Gayton loved law school, though he admits it was difficult. He had a tremendous amount of support from his family and friends.
Gayton said he selected UB Law because of its ranking, its focus on public interest law and its commitment to improving the diversity of the bar. He found the Legal Methods Program “phenomenal.” Because he had attended UB as an undergraduate in business, he knew the School of Law’s reputation.
At the time, David Filvaroff was the dean. Gayton credits Filvaroff and Professors Nils Olsen, Betty Mensch and Alan Freeman as especially supportive of the Legal Methods Program. They taught him critical thinking and problem solving and had a huge influence on how he practices law today.
He liked the grading system of H, Q and U, and said it fostered a collaborative culture among the students.
Gayton hadn’t anticipated that he would want to spend his career in-house instead of at a law firm. But he prefers working on problems from “cradle to grave”—from inception to seeing the end results—and being held accountable, rather than working on just discrete issues.
His greatest professional accomplishment, he said, is working as Ford Motor Co.’s general counsel. He reflects on his 2L summer starting at Ford as a clerk and working his way up in one of the world’s largest companies.
His greatest personal achievement is his successful marriage and three daughters.
His list of goals to accomplish: Push harder for diversity in the bar generally. Ask the law firms he hires to recruit from larger pools of diverse legal talent. Help build awareness of the profession and diversity pipelines in undergraduate schools. Work to increase pro bono engagement in law. Work to increase access to justice.
