Wylie A. Aitken

Santa Ana

Plaintiff Catastrophic Injury, Business Litigation & Bad Faith Insurance

For 43 years, Wylie A. Aitken and the lawyers in the firm he founded, Aitken Aitken Cohn, have advocated for plaintiffs' rights in cases involving bad faith insurance practices, wrongful death and major personal injury cases and business torts.

His eight-lawyer shop now includes two of his children as partners; a third, daughter Ashleigh E. Aitken, has assumed of counsel status while she serves as mayor of Anaheim.

"First woman mayor in the city's history, and she won big," Aitken said. "It used to be I was Wylie Aitken, the well-recognized trial lawyer. Now it's, 'Aren't you Ashleigh Aitken's dad?' I could not be more pleased."

Wylie Aitken remains active in Democratic Party politics as chair of Sen. Dianne Feinstein's Central District committee that screens and recommends U.S. attorneys and federal judges to the White House.

In April 2023, Aitken spoke at the investiture of U.S. District Judge Fred W. Slaughter of Santa Ana, a recent Feinstein judicial nominee. "I looked around a room full of judges, most of them appointed on her watch, and asked for a moment for them to show her their appreciation," Aitken said.

He's been outspoken about John C. Eastman, the former Chapman University Fowler School of Law professor and dean. Aitken chaired Chapman's board of trustees and protested in 2020 when Eastman questioned Kamala Harris' American citizenship. Now that Eastman has been identified as an unnamed co-conspirator in the indictment of Donald Trump over the alleged Jan. 6 conspiracy, Aitken isn't surprised.

"I've been opposed to Eastman from when he was first appointed to Chapman," Aitken said. "One never really wants to be in this position, but regarding Eastman, I told you so."

In litigation, Aitken represents surviving family members of Chapman tax law professor emeritus Frank J. Doti, who was killed when a truck rear-ended his vehicle on I-40 in 2021. Their wrongful death suit targets the truck driver, who was also killed, and the trucking company. Doti et al. v. Estate of Parmjit Singh et al., 30-2022-012800651-CU-PA-CJC (Orange Co. Super. Ct., filed Sept. 13, 2022).

And Aitken is co-lead counsel for victims in the Orange County oil spill class action, which has resulted in nearly $100 million in settlements over a 2021 underwater pipeline rupture off the Huntington Beach coastline -- including $50 million from the pipeline owners and $45 million from the shipping companies involved. East Meets West Excursions v. Amplify Energy Corp. et al., 8:21-cv-01725 (C.D. Cal., filed Oct. 18, 2021).

"It was almost a labor of love," Aitken said. "I grew up here, and it was an honor to play a significant role in helping protect our beaches and ocean." He'll collect a hefty fee, of which he said, "If you're a successful lawyer, you do quite well. We get a percentage of success."

--John Roemer