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Darren Aitken is a California civil trial attorney with more than 35 years of courtroom experience, representing seriously injured plaintiffs in insurance bad faith, personal injury, product liability, and commercial tort cases throughout Orange County and Southern California. A partner at Aitken Aitken Cohn since 1992, Mr. Aitken has secured some of the largest personal injury verdicts in Orange County history, including a $55,180,000 jury judgment later upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
free consultationMr. Aitken has been recognized as one of California’s leading personal injury and insurance bad faith attorneys by multiple independent organizations. He has been named a Super Lawyer by Law & Politics, Inc. every year from 2005 through 2025 — a distinction awarded to fewer than 5% of California attorneys — and is consistently ranked among the Top 50 Lawyers in Orange County by peer vote. He holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the organization’s highest designation for legal ability and ethical standards, and a 10/10 rating on Avvo. In 2008, he received the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association’s Top Gun award as Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year.
Darren is further named one of the “Top 50” lawyers in Orange County by this organization based on the number of votes he received from his fellow lawyers. He is AV rated by the national Martindale-Hubbell legal directory, the highest rating that an organization bestow regarding legal ability and professional ethics. Furthermore, Darren has also received a 10/10 rating by the legal review website AVVO.com.
contact Darren @ darren@aitkenlaw.com.
Darren Aitken handles personal injury, insurance bad faith, product liability, and commercial tort cases. He represents plaintiffs exclusively and does not represent insurance companies or corporations.
Darren Aitken has been licensed to practice law in California since 1989, giving him more than 35 years of civil litigation experience as of 2026.
Mr. Aitken’s largest verdict is a $55,180,000 jury judgment in Gutierrez v. United States, which is believed to be the largest personal injury award ever granted to a single plaintiff in Orange County and the largest injury judgment ever entered against the United States government. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the verdict on appeal.
Yes. Darren Aitken holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, which is the organization’s highest designation for legal ability and ethical standards. He has also been selected as a Super Lawyer by Law & Politics, Inc. every year from 2005 through 2025.
Yes. Mr. Aitken is admitted to practice in the United States District Courts and has successfully tried and argued cases before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Cases
Mr. Aitken has tried and litigated civil cases in both California state courts and the United States federal courts, recovering numerous seven- and eight-figure verdicts and settlements for his clients across personal injury, insurance bad faith, and product liability matters. Representative Results:
Testimonials
“Your wonderful expertise made an unfortunate and life-changing accident a little more tolerable with less stress for me.”
– G.H.
“Darren & his assistant were great! I was updated frequently & guided through the whole process. I highly recommend this firm!”
– Taryn Briggs
“Darren Aitken helped me through a very difficult time. Everyone was professional and sensitive. Good legal minds and we got a good outcome.”
– Christopher Chester
“Darren Aitken provided exceptional service. He kept us informed throughout the process and he worked really hard to obtain a good settlement. Darren and his staff were always available and they responded quickly to any inquiry we had. The office is very unpretentious. I highly recommend Aitken Aitken and Cohn”
– Bruce Romano
“Darren Aitken and his assistant are a rockstar team. They are attentive, compassionate, accountable, knowledgeable, and efficient. As our family dealt with the worst day of our lives we were offered care and support.”
– Kristine Lindsey
“Aitken Aitken Cohn was friendly and comforting. Darren was very knowledgeable. I would consider Aitken Aitken Cohn a high quality firm and recommend other people to them.”
– Roberta Berger
“I really enjoyed working with Darren Aitken. He had great attention to detail, he was very strategic, and extremely honest. I am very happy with the process and how my case turned out.”
– Kimberly Caldwell
“Darren Aitken is a caring attorney who always left communication open. The firm was small and personable.”
– Benjamin Farris
Areas of Practice
Professional Associations & Memberships
Awards
Speaking Engagements
Mr. Aitken is a frequent lecturer and continuing legal education speaker on topics including minor’s compromises, arbitration strategy, punitive damages, and attorney civility. He has presented at seminars organized by the California Association of Civil Plaintiffs’ Attorneys (CAOC), the Orange County Bar Association (OCBA), the Riverside County Bar Association (RCBA), and international legal organizations.
Conference Name: Palm Springs Virtual Seminar
Title: Don’t Be Afraid of the Bench (Is There MAGIC in the Binding Arbitration and Bench Trials in the Times of COVID? COVID Pros and Cons)
Year: 2021
Conference Name: OCBA Webinar
Title: The Minor’s Compromise Petition: Getting it Right the First Time
Year: 2020
Conference Name: CAOC Webinar
Title: Successful Minor’s Compromises: Petitions in a Post-COVID World
Year: July 2020
Conference Name: RCBA Webinar
Title: Minor Details: Tips for Successful Minor’s Comps, Petitions & Hearings
Year: February 2020
Conference Name: HBA Costa Rica
Title: Lawyers Civility: Why should we care?
Year: 2019
Conference Name: OCBA Scotland Travel Seminar
Title: Lawyers Civility: Why should we care?
Year: 2019
Conference Name: CAOC Annual Convention
Title: Making the MOST Out of Your Cases By Developing Punitive Damage Theories
Year: 2016
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