Megan C. Hitchcock has primarily practiced insurance defense litigation, personal injury and business litigation since her admission to the California State Bar in 2003. She has represented a variety of clients, including individuals, insurance carriers, developers, general contractors, and small business owners.
Prior to joining Demler, Armstrong & Rowland, Ms. Hitchcock’s practice focused on construction defect litigation until 2013, when she became In House Counsel for State Farm at the Law Offices of Mark Weiner. Her practice then transitioned to litigating personal injury matters pursuant to State Farm’s auto and homeowners’ policies, where she earned defense or favorable verdicts in six of seven personal injury cases. After gaining valuable experience, Ms. Hitchcock joined Schaffer, Lax, McNaughten & Chen as a Senior Associate where she handled a wide variety of civil defense matters. She subsequently returned to a staff counsel position with Esurance Property & Casualty Insurance Company at the Law Office of Robyn S. Hosmer and focused on first and third party personal injury matters involving Esurance’s auto policies. While with Esurance, Ms. Hitchcock gained valuable experience first chairing arbitrations and trial, again earning another defense verdict in 2018. She joins Demler, Armstrong & Rowland with significant experience, both trial and pre-trial, in a variety of matters including personal injury, landlord/tenant, elder abuse, contract law, construction defect and neighbor disputes.
In addition to her regular practice, Ms. Hitchcock has volunteered as a Pro Tern judge in the Los Angeles Superior Court Temporary Judge Program since January 2016. To date, she has completed twenty-three (23) assignments of traffic arraignments and/or trials at the Bellflower, Compton, Downey, Inglewood, Metro, Long Beach and Torrance courthouses.
She has been an active member of the Southeast District Bar Association (SEDBA) since 2017 and will be President-Elect in 2020. Ms. Hitchcock is also a member of The Legal Geeks, which is comprised of state and federal Judicial Officers and attorneys throughout the country, who mix legal analysis with issues raised in comic books, movies and television in an effort to educate otherwise disinterested members of the general public.
Ms. Hitchcock is a Southern California native currently residing in Long Beach and is an avid volunteer in the community. Since 2012, all three of her dogs have become certified therapy animals through the Orange County SPCA (now OC Animal Allies) and through the P.A.W.S. (Pets Are Wonderful Support) program, where she and her dogs visit nursing homes, psychiatric hospitals, hospice and children’s homes to help bring joy and encouragement to the disabled, bedridden and neglected. In 2016, she volunteered with PANDA (PAWSAssist the Needs of the District Attorney), a joint program with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA), to use therapy dogs to help comfort child victims of sexual assault and abuse while they meet with OCDA staff to prepare for their cases and trial. She is also an active member of the Junior League of Long Beach (JLLB), a women’s organization that works closely with the community and lawmakers to promote self-esteem, anti-bullying and healthy eating in middle school girls and boys. The JLLB is committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. During her free time, she enjoys spending time with her dogs, friends and family, wine tastings, concerts and traveling.
Education
- McGeorge School of Law — Sacramento, JD, 2001
- California State University, Long Beach, BA in Anthropology, 1997
Bar Information
- California, 2003
- Nevada, 2011
- United States District Court, Central District of California, 2011
- United States District Court, Southern District of California, 2011