Aurora Austriaco was announced as chair-elect of the ABA’s House of Delegates
The American Bar Association’s House of Delegates nominating committee has elected California-based Laura V. Farber as its president-elect for 2026-27.
Farber has been active in the ABA’s leadership since 1994, having sat on the board and been part of the House of Delegates. Her appointment was announced at the ABA’s 2026 Midyear Meeting in San Antonio.
Illinois-based Aurora Austriaco was named chair-elect of the House of Delegates; she will step into the chair role in August to serve the 2026-28 term. Elizabeth Kelly Meyers, also from California, was voted ABA secretary for the 2026-29 term.
Former American Bar Association House of Delegates chair Palmer Gene Vance II was the sole candidate to declare interest in the ABA’s president-elect role for the 2027-28 term.
He announced his interest at the ABA House of Delegates nominating committee’s Candidates Forum, which was held on February 8 during the 2026 midyear meeting.
“It’s a time for renewal and a time to lead,” he said in his remarks, which were published by the ABA.
Vance led the House of Delegates from 2022-2024. He is on the board and the executive committee of Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC in Lexington, Kentucky.
He was the Kentucky state delegate to the ABA over 2013-2022 and was the representative of the Kentucky Bar Association and of the ABA Young Lawyers Division. He was also delegate at large for a term.
Vance became chair of the ABA section of litigation in 2018, a post he held until 2019. Moreover, he chaired the council of the fund for justice and education and of the standing committee on meetings and travel.
He sat on several ABA committess and chaired five House of Delegates committees. He began sitting on the American Bar Endowment board in 2012; he was treasurer from 2020 to 2022.
Vance was elected to the American Law Institute and is an American Bar Foundation fellow. He led the Fayette County (Lexington) Bar Association as president from 2013 to 2014 and is treasurer of Legal Aid of the Bluegrass.
He pointed out that the association celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2028 and emphasized the importance of serving members. He also highlighted inclusion and urged the ABA to be “the tip of the spear protecting the rule of law” in the wake of attacks on justice in the US.
The nominating committee will submit its nominations for the 2027-28 president-elect position at the ABA’s 2027 Midyear Meeting.
