Alba graduated from Utah State University in 1969 with a bachelor's degree in political science.
[2] From 1977 to 1980, Alba worked at the Phoenix law firm of Gama, Iniguez, Guerrero & Albaal, where he practiced in the area of personal injury and criminal defense.
[3] From 1980 to 1987, Alba worked as first assistant and then chief of the criminal section at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah in Salt Lake City.
[2] From 1987 to 1992, Albra was a shareholder at the Salt Lake City firm of Yeates, Prince, and Geldzhaler, practicing in the areas of commercial litigation and white-collar criminal defense.
[2] In 2010, Alba delivered a speech entitled "The Changing Face of Law in Latin America" as part of Utah State University's College of Humanities and Social Sciences Distinguished Alumni Speaker series.