Laura Farber, a partner at Pasadena's Hahn & Hahn LLP, will become the first Latina president of the American Bar Association when she takes the helm of the nation's largest legal organization in August 2027.

Farber was elected by the ABA's 535-member House of Delegates at the association's annual conference in Chicago and was sworn in as president-elect on Aug. 4. She will serve alongside current ABA President Barbara J. Howard of Cincinnati for one year before assuming the presidency at the 2027 annual conference.

"My decades-long involvement with the ABA and my professional journey to this point have only reinforced my lifelong belief in the necessity of access to justice, the rule of law, and democracy," Farber said in a statement released by the ABA.

The election caps a 30-year rise through ABA leadership for Farber, who joined the organization in 1994. She has served as a California state delegate to the House of Delegates and chaired the American Bar Foundation Fellows in 2024–25.

Pasadena residents may know Farber best for her work closer to home.

She served as president of the Tournament of Roses Association for the 2020 Rose Parade and chaired the Rose Bowl Management Committee from 2020 to 2025, negotiating the game's entry into the College Football Playoff. She has volunteered with the Tournament of Roses since 1993.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Farber grew up in South Pasadena and works at Hahn & Hahn's offices at 301 E. Colorado Blvd. She earned her law degree cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center and her bachelor's degree cum laude from UCLA.

In her acceptance speech to delegates, Farber outlined four priorities: serving ABA members, strengthening the legal profession, eliminating bias and advancing diversity, and defending the rule of law. She has also listed artificial intelligence's impact on law and civics education among her priorities, according to Outlook Newspapers.

Christianne Kerns, CEO and managing partner of Hahn & Hahn, called the honor well-deserved in a statement reported by Pasadena Weekly, saying Farber "leads with integrity, vision and purpose."

Farber's accolades include the 2022 National Latina Woman of the Year award from the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation and a 2022 Woman of the Year designation from U.S. Rep. Judy Chu. In 2023, the Latina Lawyers Bar Association honored her with the Mary V. Orozco Abriendo Caminos Award.

When Farber takes office in August 2027, she will be the ABA's 151st president and will preside over the organization's sesquicentennial celebration in 2028.