The Lincoln Lawyer

The Lincoln Lawyer is a 2005 novel, the 16th by American crime writer Michael Connelly. It introduces Los Angeles defense attorney Mickey Haller, half-brother of Connelly's mainstay character Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch.

It was adapted as a 2011 film of the same name, starring Matthew McConaughey. It has also been adapted into a television series starring Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, which premiered in 2022 on Netflix.

Plot

Mickey Haller is a criminal defense attorney in Los Angeles who works out of the back of a chauffeured black Lincoln Town Car. He gets a call from bondsman Fernando Valenzuela about a lucrative client, Louis Ross Roulet. Roulet is a wealthy Beverly Hills real estate agent who was arrested for assault.

Before meeting Roulet, Haller goes to court for another client, a man in a motorcycle club. He pushes for his pay by acting like he will slow down the trial. Only a short time later, men from the club stop Haller on the road. Their head man pays him ten thousand dollars to keep going with the case. Haller tells his driver he will say the police plane broke the law by looking into a private yard.

In Van Nuys, Haller meets Roulet, who says the woman, Regina Campo, lied. Haller sees that the city lawyer is his first ex‑wife, Maggie McPherson. He points out a legal mismatch that forces her out, though she shows him a photo of the woman's face before leaving. In court, Haller gets Roulet out on a one million dollar bond. He meets Roulet's mother, Mary Alice Windsor, gets a large pay check, and takes the case. To watch the news, he buys video of the day. He also helps a woman named Gloria in exchange for news on her drug man.