Hon. Trini E. Ross ’92

Trini Ross grew up in Buffalo with two siblings. She attended Hutchinson-Central Technical High School for engineering; SUNY Fredonia for her undergraduate degree; Rutgers University in Newark, N.J., for a master’s in criminal justice; and UB School of Law.

Going to law school was a last-minute decision. Ross was attracted to UB Law because of its programming, public service and clinics. She never planned on practicing law; her goal was to be a professor. Ross loved being intellectually challenged. She made lifelong friends in law school; one is godmother to her son. Her favorite classes were in criminal law, taught by Professor Charles P. Ewing, a psychologist and sociologist, who taught Criminal Law and Evidence. She worked her way through law school, including stints in Surrogate’s Court for Judge Joseph S. Mattina and as a summer associate at Hodgson Russ.

While a considerable number of women were in her class, only a few were women of color. Ross’s dean was David B. Filvaroff, who had come from Robert F. Kennedy’s Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice. Filvaroff worked tirelessly to increase the number of minority law students. Designed to recruit students of color, the Legal Studies Program needed improvement. Filvaroff decided to temporarily halt it while changes were made. The stoppage became a hot issue in the community, and protests ensued.

Ross said the problem was finding enough students of color who were adequately prepared for law school, or who knew the opportunities a law career had to offer. She suggested that additional pipeline programs in schools could increase interest in law. Mentoring programs are critically important, too, as expectations are different from reality. She is grateful that members of the Minority Bar Association mentored her, including James Davis, Hon. E. Jeanette Ogden and Hon. Samuel Green. She now mentors young attorneys.

For Ross, being an assistant U.S. Attorney is a dream job. Hon. Patrick Nemoyer, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York, hired her after she started her career at Hiscock and Barclay (later merged with Damon Morey). She believes working as an AUSA is the best job in criminal law: you manage a case from inception to completion, with federal resources to assist. She feels personally fulfilled by being a public servant and loves putting cases together and figuring it all out.

She now teaches Trial Technique at the law school. As a law student, she took the class from Judge Hugh Scott, in front of whom she now appears in court. Law is a skill like teaching someone to drive, she said. Her advice to students: Remember that your reputation is everything. Also, preparation and diligence are keys to success.