Arizona lawyer Patricia Lee Refo assumes role of president-elect

In her speech to the ABA House of Delegates, which she chaired from 2014-16, Phoenix litigator Patricia Lee “Trish” Refo vows “to continue the quest for access to justice for all persons” in her new role as president-elect of the 400,000-member organization.

Refo pledges to work tirelessly in the coming year, starting with a trip to the Texas border, where she’ll accompany ABA President Judy Perry Martinez to shine a spotlight on the South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR), a national effort to provide pro bono legal services to asylum seekers and immigrants. 

A partner in the law firm Snell & Wilmer, Refo will serve a one-year term as president-elect before becoming ABA president in August 2020.

She has also served as chair of the ABA’s largest practice group, the Section of Litigation, and as chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Membership, the American Jury Project and the association’s grass-roots advocacy activity, ABA Day in Washington. Refo was also a member of the ABA Commission on Civic Education and the Separation of Powers.