Don Martens, founding partner of intellectual property law firm Knobbe Martens, received the seventeenth annual Judge Alicemarie H. Stotler Award at FBA/OC’s Annual Judges’ Night on October 19, 2017. The award recog- nizes distinguished service to the legal profes- sion and outstanding contributions to the Central District. Mr. Martens is only the sec- ond non-judge recipient of the award since its inception in 2000. Judge Alicemarie H. Stotler was the first woman to hold a full-time position as an Or- ange County Deputy District Attorney and served on the Orange County Municipal Court and the Orange County Superior Court. She was then appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California where she served for 25 years, acting as Chief Judge from 2005 to 2009. Mr. Martens helped grow Knobbe Martens from just a handful of lawyers in 1965 to about 300 attorneys and scientists today. Under Mr. Martens’s leadership, the firm emerged from a small office in Orange County to become one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the United States. Today, the firm’s clients span the globe and range from cutting edge start-ups to established Fortune 500 companies. To foster that growth, Mr. Martens helped instill a culture of collaboration that hastened the development of Knobbe Martens attorneys into seasoned practitioners. One of those attorneys, John Sganga, Jr., now chairs the litigation department at Knobbe Martens and introduced Mr. Martens at the Annual Judges’ Night. In his remarks, Mr. Sganga noted that the strong culture Mr. Martens helped create has enabled Knobbe Mar- tens’s continued success even after Mr. Martens and his fellow founding partners retired. Mr. Martens was a forceful and persuasive advocate. Among numerous honors, PLC Global Counsel Maga- zine named Mr. Martens one of “The Top 10 Patent Lawyers in the World.” Mr. Martens’s advocacy was de- fined by civility and professionalism. He considered this demeanor not only as a requirement placed on offic- ers of the court, but also as a strength that enhanced his practice. In addition to his successes as an advocate, Mr. Martens served as a neutral for intellectual property dis- putes. He was appointed as a Special Master for six U.S. District Courts, including the Central District. Mr. Martens also presided as a mediator and arbitrator over significant intellectual property matters, including patent license and infringement cases. (Continued on page 7) Page 6 FBA/OC FBA/OC Honors Don Martens with the Judge Alicemarie H. Stotler Award at Annual Judges’ Night By Brian Claassen and Justin Gillett*