Wylie A. Aitken

Orange County's tort king is also a leader in local Democratic politics, Catholic charities, legal education and arts funding. He is known for big wins for ordinary clients, such as the surprising $2.1 million verdict against the county after a mountain lion attacked a little girl in a wilderness park, or the undisclosed settlement and changed code section after a placid Disneyland ride killed a man and disfigured his wife. Last year, he persuaded a federal judge to award $55 million to a girl paralyzed in a traffic collision. But Aitken also heads South Coast Repertory's board, serves on the commission that recommends federal judges and endows a chair at the Chapman University School of Law, and as general counsel to the local public television station, led the succesful fight for it to remain public. And every Christmas, he throws a huge bash at his home where every guest must donate a jacket or coat to the homeless.