This article contains major character or plot details.
Mickey Haller, also known as the Lincoln Lawyer, earned his nickname by working legal cases out of the back of his Lincoln Navigator. But Mickey has an office, Haller and Associates, where he practices criminal defense law — with support from Lorna Crane, Izzy Letts, and Cisco Wojciechowski — and establishes himself as Los Angeles’s toughest attorney, dedicated to fighting for the underdogs.
Born in LA and raised partially in Mexico by his mother, Mickey is passionate about food. Whether to connect with his roots, explore his beloved city, or enjoy a break from his high-stress job, Mickey’s always eating. He’s also critical of the US justice system, which puts him at odds with his ex-wife — a prosecutor and the mother of his child — Maggie McPherson..
Read on to learn more about The Lincoln Lawyer’s titular character.
Vital stats
Name: J. Michael Haller Jr.
Nicknames: Mickey, Mick, the Lincoln Lawyer, Haller
Played by: Manuel Garcia-Rulfo
Job: Criminal defense attorney
Marital status: Divorced
Cars: 1963 Lincoln Continental, Lincoln Navigator, Lincoln Aviator
First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 1, “He Rides Again” (1:42)
Key relationships
Parents: J. Michael Haller Sr. (deceased), Elena Haller
Spouses: Maggie McPherson (divorced), Lorna Crane (divorced)
Other romantic relationships: Lisa Trammell (Season 2), Andrea “Andy” Freeman (Season 3)
Children: Hayley Haller
Confidants: Dennis “Cisco” Wojciechowski, Izzy Letts, David “Legal” Siegel
Season 1
- After an 18-month break from practicing law, Mickey gets back to work. Following a surfing accident, he developed an addiction to painkillers that resulted in six months in rehab.
- Mickey is also wracked with guilt over the case of Jesús Menendez, a former client who was wrongly convicted of murder because Mickey’s star witness, Gloria Dayton (aka Glory Days), disappeared right before she was supposed to testify.
- There’s a season-long will they, won’t they tension between Mickey and his first ex-wife, District Attorney Maggie McPherson. His addiction and their jobs have gotten in the way, but the sparks are still there.
- A fellow attorney, Jerry Vincent, is shot dead nine days after he filed a motion indicating that, upon his death or incapacitation, his law practice should transfer to Mickey. The Lincoln Lawyer gets a new office and a full caseload.
- Mickey’s big comeback case involves tech billionaire Trevor Elliott, who’s accused of killing his wife and her yoga instructor turned lover.
- Mickey argues that the yoga instructor could have been the primary target because of his many affairs with married clients, and he proves that Trevor had gunshot residue on him because he had been put in an uncleaned police car. Mickey wins the case.
- With help from Cisco and Lorna, Mickey tracks down Glory Days, who testifies that Menendez is innocent, vindicating Mickey’s work on the case that has haunted him.
- On the stand, Glory Days also says the cops — including Detective Lankford, with whom Maggie is working on another case — threatened to ruin her life if she testified. The lingering chance of Mickey and Maggie getting back together falls apart as each accuses the other of putting their clients before their relationship.
Season 2
- Mickey is named “LA’s hottest defense lawyer” by The Los Angeles Times.
- He’s also assigned to defend a man named Russell for burglary, and he turns out to be guilty of murdering Martha Renteria, the crime of which Menendez was wrongly accused last season. After Russell confesses to the crime, Mickey is unable to tell anyone because of attorney-client privilege. Instead, Mickey sets Russell up to be apprehended by the police when he attempts to attack Glory Days, who previously testified he was responsible for the murder.
- Mickey meets chef and restaurant owner Lisa Trammell, and the two strike up a romantic relationship. But he calls things off when Lisa is arrested for the murder of wealthy building developer Mitchell Bondurant and instead represents her. At trial, Mickey is up against prosecutor Andrea Freeman.
- Arguing that Lisa was framed by shady construction-company owner Alex Grant, Mickey wins her case. After the verdict, Mickey and Lisa sleep together, but he ends things for good when he discovers that she did kill her ex-husband.
- Mickey is assaulted in a parking garage and assumes that it’s Grant seeking revenge for making him look bad in court and costing him a major construction contract.
- After he’s released from the hospital, Mickey and Maggie sleep together, but she reveals she’s accepted a job as head of major crimes in San Diego.
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Season 3
- After his friend Glory Days is found dead, Mickey defends Julian La Cosse, who’s wrongly accused of the murder.
- Mickey hires Eddie Rojas, a family friend and Hayley’s former babysitter, as a driver. Eddie is killed in a car accident that seems to have targeted Mickey. Hayley blames her father for Eddie’s death, which causes them to become estranged.
- A casual relationship forms between Mickey and prosecutor Andrea Freeman, but it gets more serious throughout the season. The two end their romance amicably in Episode 9.
- Mickey proves Julian’s innocence by arguing that a corrupt drug enforcement administration agent, James de Marco, murdered Glory Days before she could expose his involvement with the Juárez Cartel.
- Disgusted with widespread corruption, Mickey presents the evidence of other attacks de Marco orchestrated — including one on Julian during a prison transfer and the car accident that killed Eddie — to the newly appointed District Attorney Adam Suarez.
- Just as he’s finally about to take a vacation, Mickey is pulled over, and the body of con man Sam Scales is discovered in the trunk of Mickey’s Lincoln Continental.
Season 4
- Mickey is on trial for the murder of Sam Scales.
- With Maggie as his co-counsel, Mickey faces off against cutthroat prosecutor Dana Berg to prove his innocence.
- While building his defense, Mickey discovers that Sam Scales had been working with Alex Gazarian — formerly known as Alex Grant — and the Armenian mob to scam the government out of millions in biofuel subsidies. When Gazarian found out that Sam was skimming money off the top, he had him killed. Gazarian has held a grudge against Mickey since Season 2, so he framed Mickey for Sam’s murder.
- Mickey also finds out that Sam was working with the FBI to build a case against Gazarian and his fellow mobsters. The FBI doesn’t want Mickey to expose their ongoing federal investigation while on trial, so District Attorney Suarez drops the charges.
- Members of the Armenian mob shoot at Mickey in a grocery store parking lot, because he knows about the biofuel scam. He’s saved by an unknown woman, who then introduces herself to Mickey by saying, “I’m your sister.”
