{"id":1318,"date":"2025-06-06T20:03:45","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T20:03:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/?page_id=1318"},"modified":"2026-02-09T15:28:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T15:28:31","slug":"kirstin-d-lowry","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/?page_id=1318","title":{"rendered":"Kirstin D. Lowry Sommers"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Kirstin D. Lowry Sommers<\/h2>\n

Pinehurst, North Carolina
klowry@bigfirelaw.com<\/a><\/p>\n

TRIBAL AFFILIATION<\/h3>\n

Enrolled citizen of the Seneca Nation<\/p>\n

EDUCATION<\/h3>\n

Bachelor\u2019s Degree in History, State University of New York at Fredonia (B.A. 1995)<\/p>\n

Juris Doctor, State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law (J.D. 1999)<\/p>\n

BAR ADMISSIONS<\/h3>\n

New York; North Carolina; U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina; Seneca Nation Tribal Courts<\/p>\n

PRIOR LEGAL EXPERIENCE<\/h3>\n

Deputy Tribal Counsel for Catawba Indian Nation (2023-2024); Senior Vice President and General Counsel; Deputy General Counsel for Seneca Gaming Corporation d\/b\/a Seneca Resorts & Casinos (2010-2017); Of Counsel Hurwitz & Fine, P.C. (2009-2010); Principal Attorney, Law Office of Kirstin Lowry (2003-2010); Litigation Associate, Nixon Peabody, LLP (1999-2002)<\/p>\n

ASSOCIATIONS AND HONORS<\/h3>\n

Prancing Horse, Inc. Advisory, Board Member (2025-present); Jeremiah Project, Inc., Board Member and Officer (2024-present); New York State Bar (2000-present); North Carolina Bar Association (2025-present); Society of Human Resources Management, Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) (2023-present); Speaker for TribalHub National Conference (2021); Mentor for Leadership Buffalo Youth (2018-2021); Big Brothers Big Sisters of Erie, Chautauqua, and Southern Tier Counties, Board Member (2017-2020); Leadership Buffalo, Graduate (2017); Executive Coach, Post Graduate Certification (2017); University of Penn State Certification, Leadership & Gaming (2015); Most Influential Woman of Western New York Honoree (2014); United States Green Building Upstate USGB Chapter, Board Member (2007-2010); Seneca Nation of Indians Federal Credit Union Task Force Member (pre-licensure and formation) (2009-2011)<\/p>\n

Practice Areas<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Ms. Lowry practices primarily in tribal and federal Indian law, with an emphasis in gaming and hospitality, governmental affairs, and economic development. In this capacity, she has served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel to the Seneca Resorts & Casinos. She has served as Deputy Tribal Counsel to the Catawba Indian Nation and its wholly owned gaming and hospitality enterprise, Catawba Two Kings Casino. Ms. Lowry has also served in a general counsel capacity to a variety of Native American commercial entities.<\/p>\n

Ms. Lowry has extensive gaming experience, including assisting in a variety of economic development and expansion efforts, initial and re-financings, as well as intra-tribal, tribal-state compact, and National Indian Gaming Commission regulatory and compliance issues. She routinely provides legal and operations counsel to tribal and gaming concerns, from governmental councils to gaming and regulatory boards of directors\/commissions, C-suite personnel, and departments overseeing legal, human resources, finance, compliance, risk management, design and construction, as well as security. Ms. Lowry also has substantial experience in negotiating and drafting a host of complex commercial contract matters, including professional services, goods, supplies, technology SAAS agreements, and management contracts.<\/p>\n

Ms. Lowry has further represented tribal interests in large-scale risk mitigation planning and high value insurance claims and coverage issues. Likewise, she has represented and defended tribal and tribally owned gaming interests, including government officials, board and executive level personnel in various litigation related matters, including negotiations, settlements, and trial.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Ms. Lowry practices in the area of tribal governance, including preservation and expansion of sovereignty, furtherance of self-determination rights, as well as government-to-government consultations on a broad range of substantive areas at federal, state, local, and tribal levels. She has represented tribes in corporate and regulatory code drafting, entity creation, financing, and internal self-governance initiatives. She has also represented tribally-owned entities in routine and sophisticated corporate governance matters, a broad range of internal and external reviews and investigations, as well as strategic and succession planning for growth of economic development and the development of highly qualified indigenous leadership under Tribal Employment Rights Ordinance and equivalent initiatives.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kirstin D. Lowry Sommers Pinehurst, North Carolinaklowry@bigfirelaw.com TRIBAL AFFILIATION Enrolled citizen of the Seneca Nation EDUCATION Bachelor\u2019s Degree in History, State University of New York at Fredonia (B.A. 1995) Juris Doctor, State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law (J.D. 1999) BAR ADMISSIONS New York; North Carolina; U.S. District Court for the Western […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1318","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nKirstin D. Lowry Sommers - Big Fire Law<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/?page_id=1318\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kirstin D. Lowry Sommers - Big Fire Law\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kirstin D. Lowry Sommers Pinehurst, North Carolinaklowry@bigfirelaw.com TRIBAL AFFILIATION Enrolled citizen of the Seneca Nation EDUCATION Bachelor\u2019s Degree in History, State University of New York at Fredonia (B.A. 1995) Juris Doctor, State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law (J.D. 1999) BAR ADMISSIONS New York; North Carolina; U.S. District Court for the Western […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/?page_id=1318\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Big Fire Law\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-09T15:28:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Kirstin-Headshot-May2025.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bigfirelaw.com\\\/?page_id=1318\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bigfirelaw.com\\\/?page_id=1318\",\"name\":\"Kirstin D. Lowry Sommers - Big Fire Law\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bigfirelaw.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bigfirelaw.com\\\/?page_id=1318#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bigfirelaw.com\\\/?page_id=1318#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bigfirelaw.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/Kirstin-Headshot-May2025.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-06T20:03:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-09T15:28:31+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bigfirelaw.com\\\/?page_id=1318#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bigfirelaw.com\\\/?page_id=1318\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bigfirelaw.com\\\/?page_id=1318#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bigfirelaw.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/Kirstin-Headshot-May2025.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bigfirelaw.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/Kirstin-Headshot-May2025.png\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":1024},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bigfirelaw.com\\\/?page_id=1318#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bigfirelaw.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Kirstin D. Lowry Sommers\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bigfirelaw.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bigfirelaw.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Big Fire Law\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bigfirelaw.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bigfirelaw.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bigfirelaw.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Big Fire Law\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bigfirelaw.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bigfirelaw.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bigfirelaw.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/cropped-Big-Fire-LLP_Logo_Color_300.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bigfirelaw.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/cropped-Big-Fire-LLP_Logo_Color_300.png\",\"width\":2529,\"height\":866,\"caption\":\"Big Fire Law\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bigfirelaw.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kirstin D. Lowry Sommers - Big Fire Law","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/?page_id=1318","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kirstin D. Lowry Sommers - Big Fire Law","og_description":"Kirstin D. Lowry Sommers Pinehurst, North Carolinaklowry@bigfirelaw.com TRIBAL AFFILIATION Enrolled citizen of the Seneca Nation EDUCATION Bachelor\u2019s Degree in History, State University of New York at Fredonia (B.A. 1995) Juris Doctor, State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law (J.D. 1999) BAR ADMISSIONS New York; North Carolina; U.S. District Court for the Western […]","og_url":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/?page_id=1318","og_site_name":"Big Fire Law","article_modified_time":"2026-02-09T15:28:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":1024,"url":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Kirstin-Headshot-May2025.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/?page_id=1318","url":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/?page_id=1318","name":"Kirstin D. Lowry Sommers - Big Fire Law","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/?page_id=1318#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/?page_id=1318#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Kirstin-Headshot-May2025.png","datePublished":"2025-06-06T20:03:45+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-09T15:28:31+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/?page_id=1318#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/?page_id=1318"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/?page_id=1318#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Kirstin-Headshot-May2025.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Kirstin-Headshot-May2025.png","width":1024,"height":1024},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/?page_id=1318#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Kirstin D. Lowry Sommers"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/","name":"Big Fire Law","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/#organization","name":"Big Fire Law","url":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cropped-Big-Fire-LLP_Logo_Color_300.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cropped-Big-Fire-LLP_Logo_Color_300.png","width":2529,"height":866,"caption":"Big Fire Law"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1318"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1347,"href":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1318\/revisions\/1347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bigfirelaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}