Tarina Mand is this year’s recipient of the Rising Attorney Award.
The Rising Attorney Award recognizes an outstanding attorney who has demonstrated a commitment to the legal profession through excellent advocacy and service to the local community. The recipient must have been admitted to the bar for no more than 7 years at the time of nomination and served as counsel of record in at least one case before the U.S. District Court or U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California.
Tarina is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego, and California Western School of Law where she received a 90% scholarship. She is currently a fourth-year attorney at Dixon Diab & Chambers representing plaintiffs in complex litigation matters. Tarina’s practice focuses on class actions, mass tort cases, and employment matters including discrimination, harassment, and assault. She actively litigates cases in both Superior Court and Federal Court, and has litigated jury trials in both venues.
It is an understatement to state that Tarina is dedicated to the legal community. Tarina is in fact a leader within the community, and through her involvement in a variety of organizations, tirelessly advocates for inclusion, justice, and equality. It is almost impossible to recognize all of Tarina’s contributions and activities.
Tarina served as the 2020-2021 President of the South Asian Bar Association (SABA) San Diego when she was only a few years out of law school. As President, Tarina launched the Equal Pay Transparency Initiative to bridge the gender and minority pay gap. This initiative provides a community generated database that attempts to empower people to advocate for equal pay while bridging the pay gap. Under Tarina’s leadership, SABA-SD also initiated the Peter Quon Leadership Retreat to mentor Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) attorneys and develop a pipeline of diverse leaders in the community.
Tarina has also volunteered her time to the Ninth Circuit’s Pro Bono Panel. Specifically, Tarina was appointed by the Ninth Circuit as pro bono appellate counsel for an Indian political party operative who is appealing the denial of his asylum application after stating he was subject to persecution and death threats. In addition, Tarina advocates for refugees and asylees by volunteering for the Casa Cornelia Immigration Law Center, a non-profit dedicated to providing access to justice at all levels of the immigration system.
Tarina’s community involvement does not stop there. Tarina is an active and devoted member of Lawyers Club of San Diego, and has been since a first year law student. From 2019-2020, Tarina was the co-chair of the Women’s Advocacy and Reproductive Justice Committee. During that time, this Committee vetted legal issues including proposed legislation and voter referendums through the lens of the Lawyers Club’s mission to promote the status of women in law and society. This year, Tarina led the training for reproductive rights at Lobby Week for National SABA, and she volunteered her time advocating for anti-hate legislation at the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) Annual Lobby Day.
Tarina also is involved in other bar associations at national and local levels. She serves as the co-chair for the Diversity and Inclusion Subcommittee for the National Federal Bar Association and previously served on the San Diego County Bar Association Committee on Diversity and Inclusion, as well as the County Bar Leadership and Outreach Committee. And as part of her service to the National FBA, Tarina helped start a more inclusive national database of speakers to help identify minority speakers. Scheduled to launch September 2022, she initiated monthly roundtable discussions with presidents of various national organizations to create more comradery and a pipeline of diverse leaders within the FBA.
Tarina Mand (Center) Receiving the Rising Attorney Award with Distinguished Service Award Winner Shireen Matthews (Left) and Outstanding Advocate Award Winner Ryan Stitt (Right)
We are thrilled to have Tarina as one of our FBA members. The San Diego FBA is pleased to award Tarina with this year’s Rising Attorney Award.