Ahlers, James A.

Mr. Aitken's practice is limited to civil litigation, where he represents plaintiffs in major matters involving insurance bad faith, personal injury, aviation, product liability and commercial torts. Mr. Aitken has successfully litigated and tried numerous civil actions both in the state and federal courts, and he has obtained several seven and eight figure results for his clients. His recent notable achievements include a trial judgment on behalf of his clients in the amount of $55,180,000 in Gutierrez vs. The United States. The Gutierrez judgment was the largest amount ever awarded against the United States in a Federal Torts Claims Act action, and is believed to be the largest amount ever awarded in an Orange County personal injury matter. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld this judgment. Also, Mr. Aitken recently negotiated a settlement in the amount of $19,250,000 for his clients in a fiercely disputed action against a publicly traded international corporation. His appellate practice is reflected in published opinions such as Boicourt v. Amex Assurance Co. and Rothman v. Jackson.

Mr. Aitken was named the Orange County Trial Lawyers "Top Gun Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year" in 2008. He was named a "Rising Star" in 2004 by his peers in a vote of lawyers conducted by Law & Politics, Inc., and was named a "Super Lawyer" by that same organization in 2005 through 2009. In 2007, Mr. Aitken was further named one of the "Top 50" lawyers in Orange County based on the number of votes he received from his fellow lawyers. In 2006, Mr. Aitken was named a "New Star" by LawDragon Magazine, and in 2007 was named by LawDragon as one of the top 3000 Leading Plaintiffs Lawyers in America . Mr. Aitken is AV rated by the national Martindale-Hubbell legal directory, the highest rating that organization bestows in regard to legal ability and professional ethics.

Throughout his career, Mr. Aitken has devoted considerable time and taken leadership responsibilities in several legal and community organizations. Mr. Aitken is on the Board of Directors of the Orange County Bar Association, the Public Law Center , the Constitutional Rights Foundation of Orange County, the Association of Business Trial Lawyers (Orange County Chapter) and the American Red Cross (Orange County Chapter). Mr. Aitken is the founder and former president of the Celtic Bar Association of Orange County. Mr. Aitken is a former president of the Orange County Hispanic Bar Association.

Mr. Aitken has given numerous seminars on various trial related topics, and he has been published in the Los Angeles Daily Journal, Southern California Law Review, the OCTLA Gavel, the Advocate magazine (for which he served as the Orange County Editor for several years) and the CAOC Forum.

Mr. Aitken was born in Santa Ana, California, May 4, 1964 and has been a practicing attorney in California since 1989. Mr. Aitken is a partner of the law firm Aitken Aitken & Cohn, in Santa Ana, California , and has practiced with the firm since 1992.