Celebrating Chapter Award Winners
- sarah.pike
- Jun 17
- 8 min read
By Mitchell Wong & Scarlett Aylsworth*
On May 13, 2025, the FBA hosted our second annual Judicial Reception & Awards Ceremony at the Carté Hotel rooftop. Meet our amazing award winners: Arwa Zakir Kakavand, Jennifer M. Martin, Randy Kay, and the Honorable Dana M. Sabraw. Read on to learn more about these formidable members of our community.
Rising Attorney Award: Jennifer M. Martin
The Rising Attorney Award recognizes an outstanding attorney in any practice area, public or private, who has been admitted to the bar for no more than seven years at the time of nomination. Eligibility for the award is based on the attorney’s excellent advocacy and commitment to the legal profession through education, mentoring, or service to the community. The recipient must have served as counsel of record in at least one case before the Southern District of California’s U.S. District Court or U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
Jennifer currently serves as Senior Deputy County Counsel for the County of San Diego’s Civil Litigation Division. Her practice centers on defending the County against constitutional claims, particularly cases alleging excessive force, unreasonable searches and seizures, and deliberate indifference to serious medical needs. She’s involved in all parts of the litigation process—pleadings, motion practice, discovery, trial, mediation, and appellate work. In her time at the Office of San Diego County Counsel, Jennifer has taken over 90 depositions and has acted as a lead trial counsel in two jury trials: Russo v. County of San Diego, 18-cv-1837-TWR-MDD and Estate of Sandoval v. County of San Diego, 16-cv-1004-BEN-SBC. The Office trusts her with their high exposure cases.
Before serving as Senior Deputy County Counsel, Jennifer held numerous other legal roles in San Diego, including at Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP; Office of the San Diego City Attorney; and Gnau & Tamez Law Group, LLP. She graduated Valedictorian of Thomas Jefferson School of Law in 2018. She remains active in community volunteer work at Meals on Wheels, a home-delivered meal program, and Smittens Kitten Rescue, a local animal rescue.
Despite her busy schedule as a mother of three sons, Jennifer goes out of her way to be a mentor to new attorneys. She’s also a team player, expressing a willingness to assist other colleagues with their caseload. When one colleague was defending a multiple-week jury trial, Jennifer went as far as drafting three motions in her place while her colleague prepared for other aspects of the trial.
Jennifer is grateful to several people who have assisted her professional journey. First, Jennifer would like to thank her colleagues at the Office of San Diego County Counsel for their mentorship, collaboration, and trust in allowing her to handle high-exposure cases. Second, she’d like to thank her former colleagues at the Office of the San Diego City Attorney for urging her to expand her career and pursue new opportunities in the legal profession. Third, Jennifer would like to acknowledge the judges and court staff in the Southern District of California for creating a professional environment that fosters attorney development, as well as the opposing counsel she has worked with—their professionalism and skilled advocacy have challenged her to continuously grow as a litigator. Finally, Jennifer is grateful to her family for their unwavering support.
Jennifer is a consummate-professional. Her generous nature, breadth of federal civil practice, and exceptional legal skills reflect the poise and capability of a litigator well beyond her years. The San Diego FBA is pleased to recognize Jennifer with the 2025 Rising Attorney Award.
Outstanding Advocate Award: Randy Kay
The Outstanding Advocate Award recognizes an attorney in any practice area, public or private, who has demonstrated outstanding advocacy and legal expertise while maintaining professionalism and civility over the course of their career. Eligibility for the award is based on the attorney’s legal work and contributions to the legal profession or the justice system.
Randy is a Partner in Jones Day’s San Diego Office. A graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, Randy has practiced continuously in the Southern District of California since his admission in December 1990, with a focus on trade secret and patent disputes for technology and life science companies. He has litigated over 50 cases in the Southern District. Nationwide, he has led more than 40 trials and arbitrations. His track record has made Randy one of the country’s leading intellectual property lawyers.
Among his many successes, Randy represented Qualcomm Incorporated in a series of lawsuits against Apple, including Qualcomm’s patent cases in the Southern District of California and its trade secret and contract lawsuit in San Diego Superior Court. Randy’s advocacy contributed to Qualcomm and Apple reaching a multi-billion-dollar global settlement.
In the intellectual property law and procedure space, Randy is particularly renowned for his writing, having published the treatise Trade Secret Litigation & Protection in California. This work, now in its fourth edition, aids readers in understanding the complexities of trade secret law and procedure and teaches readers how to administer cases through the court system.
Aside from his partner role at Jones Day, Randy has served as an appointed member of the Southern District of California’s Standing Committee on Discipline, Patent Advisory Committee, and Magistrate Judge Selection Committee. He has also participated as a Lawyer Representative to the Southern District of California, volunteered as an Advisor to the San Diego FBA, and dedicated his time as a Director of the Legal Aid Society of San Diego.
Randy thanks the judges of the Southern District of California for maintaining an environment that fosters development of advocacy skills, and he expresses appreciation to the San Diego FBA for this award.
Randy has been distinguished for his legal acumen by Legal 500 US, World Intellectual Property Review, Chambers USA, Daily Journal, and IAM Patent 1000. The San Diego FBA is pleased to join this list and recognize Randy with the 2025 Outstanding Advocate Award.
Distinguished Service Award: Arwa Zakir Kakavand
The Distinguished Service Award recognizes distinguished service to the San Diego and Imperial County communities by an attorney, law firm, or organization. The award recognizes service to the legal profession, service to the local community, and service advancing education, equality, diversity, inclusion, and access to justice.
Arwa is the current Managing Attorney for the Community Legal Response Project at Casa Cornelia Law Center. She has dedicated a significant portion of her career to vindicating immigrants’ rights, having previously served as Director of Litigation at Casa Cornelia, Senior Staff Attorney at the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies, and Associate at Altman Immigration Law. Arwa received her J.D. from Seton Hall Law School and her Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from St. John’s University.
As Managing Attorney for the Community Legal Response Project, Arwa furthers her deep commitment to immigrants’ rights and social justice. She ensures that the project provides critical legal support to direct service providers, community leaders, nonprofit organizations, and individual litigants who are navigating an ever-changing immigration law and policy landscape. Arwa also spearheads Casa Cornelia’s legal response efforts and limited-scope representation for clients facing urgent immigration challenges.
Arwa further serves the San Diego legal community as Co-President of the South Asian Bar Association of San Diego. In this role, Arwa has directed the Afghan Outreach Project (AOP) to connect refugee Afghan lawyers and judges to services and mentors in San Diego. Under her stewardship, the AOP hosted several events that kindled many enduring mentor-mentee relationships within the San Diego legal community. The AOP also partnered with the San Diego FBA on several initiatives, including coordinating a federal district court tour for Afghan judges and lawyers in January 2025 and fostering partnerships with the Lawyer Representatives for the Southern District of California.
Arwa is deeply grateful to the Federal Bar Association for this award and recognition, and to Casa Cornelia Law Center and the South Asian Bar Association for nurturing and supporting her passion to serve. Arwa’s heartfelt thanks also go to the village of judges and attorneys who have supported these efforts, and most importantly, to the communities she serves for placing their trust in her.
The San Diego FBA is pleased to recognize Arwa and her wide-ranging and dedicated service to her community with the 2025 Distinguished Service Award.
Judicial Service Award: The Honorable Dana Makoto Sabraw
The Judicial Service Award recognizes an exemplary federal jurist who has provided outstanding service to the bench, the Federal Bar Association, and the federal community at large while promoting professionalism and civility. The recipient of the Judicial Service Award is further committed to improving access to the federal courts and upholding the rule of law.
Dana M. Sabraw is a United States District Judge for the Southern District of California. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on May 1, 2003, unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on September 25, 2003, and received his judicial commission on September 26, 2003. Judge Sabraw has thoroughly enjoyed serving the Southern District of California as a district judge for the past 22 years, enthusiastically describing the job as the “best job in America!” A colleague of Judge Sabraw stated he has served the District with distinction and provided “steady and dignified service” over the years, most recently as Chief Judge of the Southern District from 2021 to 2025.
Judge Sabraw is a California native. He received his undergraduate degree from San Diego State University, and his law degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, where he graduated in the top 10% of his class and served on the Law Review. He began his legal career in 1985 at Price, Postel & Parma in Santa Barbara, California, purportedly the “oldest law firm west of the Mississippi.” While there, he specialized in securities and business litigation in state and federal courts. In 1992, Judge Sabraw moved to San Diego with his wife Summer Stephan, now San Diego county’s elected District Attorney, where he joined the international law firm Baker & McKenzie and became a partner three years later. In 1995, Governor Pete Wilson appointed Judge Sabraw to the North County Municipal Court. After serving as presiding judge of that Court, Governor Wilson elevated Judge Sabraw to the San Diego Superior Court in 1998, where he served as criminal supervising judge and a direct civil calendar judge in the North County branch. He served on the state court for eight years until his nomination to the federal bench in 2003.
Judge Sabraw has presided over more than 300 jury trials and handled cases of national prominence. Of note is the family separation case, which arose from the Trump Administration’s policy of separating minor children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border to deter migration. Judge Sabraw enjoined that practice finding it violated the Fifth Amendment right to family integrity and ordered reunification of the separated families, which included more than 5,000 children.
Outside the courtroom, Judge Sabraw serves as a member of the Judicial Conference Committee on the Judicial Branch at the request of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and as a member of a national Task Force on Judicial Security and Independence. He has also served as a founding member and president of two American Inns of Court (Lopardo and Wallace Chapters), and as a board member of the Pan Asian Lawyers of San Diego and Association of Business Trial Lawyers. He regularly presides over high school mock trials, speaks at community and law related events about the rule of law and judicial independence, and mentors many students and lawyers through organizations like “Just the Beginning”.
These efforts have led to numerous awards and recognitions, including Outstanding Jurist (San Diego County Bar Association), Judge of the Year (Consumer Attorneys and La Raza Lawyers Association of San Diego), Humanitarian of the Year (Casa Cornelia Law Center), Person of the Year (San Diego Union Tribune editorial board), and Japanese American of the Biennium (Japanese American Citizens League, National), among others.
Above all, Judge Sabraw is a person of great integrity. California Supreme Justice Martin J. Jenkins, who formerly served as Governor Newsom’s Judicial Appointments Secretary, described Judge Sabraw as a “judge’s judge” and stated lawyers “speak in hushed tones when describing his values and legal ability.” And in the words of his mentor, Judge William B. Enright, Judge Sabraw is “the epitome of what a federal judge should be.” His commitment to ethics, civility and a fiercely independent judiciary reflects a deep reverence for our justice system and the rule of law.
The San Diego FBA is pleased to recognize Judge Sabraw with the Judicial Service Award.
