Mickey Haller (The Lincoln Lawyer)

The Dick of the Day

Created by Michael Connelly

“Everybody lies… Cops lie. Lawyers lie. Witnesses lie. The victims lie. A trial is a contest of lies.”
— Mickey Haller in The Brass Verdict

Best known for his popular series about dark horse cop (and sometime private eye) Harry Bosch, author Michael Connelly has also dabbled with other almost-eye protagonists, including MICKEY HALLER, the hero of his 2005 novel The Lincoln Lawyer.

And just between us? I prefer Mickey to Harry.

Mickey’s a disillusioned, criminal defense attorney who deals in volume. He wheels and deals out of the back seat of a Lincoln Town Car (one of several which he received from a grateful client in lieu of payment), a grunt with a suit, a tie and a briefcase, in perpetual motion between the courthouses and jails of Los Angeles County. His clients are equally far flung, ranging from bikers and drug dealers to scam artists and drunk drivers. Like the blurb says, “For him, the law is rarely about guilt or innocence — it’s about negotiation and manipulation.”

And every now and then Mickey gets a client who may actually be innocent… maybe…

The Lincoln Lawyer turned out to one of Connelly’s better-received books, and fans began to pester him for a sequel. Well, they got it — in spades — when Haller teamed up with Bosch in The Brass Verdict (2008). And it turned out the two had more in common than anyone suspected. The Brass Verdict proved successful, as well, and 2010 saw them teaming up again in The Reversal. The Fifth Witness (2011) hit the bookshelves just as the film adaptation of The Lincoln Lawyer starring Matthew McConaughey, then mostly known for rom coms, hit theatres.

Wait a minute!!! Matthew McConaughey as Mickey Haller?

Yeah, and it was a pretty damn good movie. So there…

Besides the Bosch series (which inspired a successful television series), the Connelliverse includes crime reporter Jack McEvoy (introduced in 1996’s The Poet), former FBI profiler Terry McCaleb (introduced in 1998’s Blood Work), FBI Agent Rachel Walling and Cassie Black, a Las Vegas thief who made her debut in Void Moon (2000). 2017’s The Late Show introduced Renée Ballard, a young LAPD detective who works the night shift

Not to be outdone by the TV success of that Bosch guy, in 2021 it was announced that CBS (not Netflix, as previously announced) had given a series production commitment to The Lincoln Lawyer, based on Michael Connelly’s series of bestselling novels, with David E. Kelley (who certainly knows his way around a quirky lawyer or two) as executive producer and writer, Ted Humphrey as showrunner, executive producer, and writer; and Ross Fineman (Goliath, Big Sky) as executive producer. Manuel Garcia-Rulfo will star as Mickey because, they say,  he “brings a powerful dynamic and dimension to the role–one that aligns with the books and will give the show the opportunity to celebrate the Latinx heritage and roots of this Los Angeles-based story.”

Uh-huh.

Or at least that was the plan. Apparently in June 2021, while Connelly was telling the Tampa Bay Times that “We’re about halfway through filming. We’ve done six episodes. I’ve seen cuts of the first three episodes, and I really love them,” CBS (not Netflix) was busy cancelling the series.

It’s all very confusing…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

One of the most respected and popular mystery writers around, Michael Connelly’s books been translated in 35 languages and have won the Edgar , the Anthony, the Macavity, the Los Angeles Times Best Mystery/Thriller Award, the Shamus, the Dilys, the Nero, the Barry, the Maltese Falcon (Japan), the .38 Caliber (France), the Grand Prix (France), and the Premio Bancarella (Italy). In 2003-04, he served as the President of the Mystery Writers of America, and he has written for TV and film, including adapting Harry Bosch for television. Connelly currently lives with his family in Florida.

TRIVIA

  • Besides roaming the same SoCal streets as Bosch, there’s another connection between Mickey and Connelly’s most popular character. In Connelly’s second novel, The Black Ice, Harry discovers that his father was the famous criminal defense attorney, J. Michael Haller. At his funeral, Harry discovers that he has several half brothers and half sisters, including Mickey.

NOVELS

SHORT STORIES

FILMS

  • THE LINCOLN LAWYER | Buy the DVD | Buy the Blu-Ray | Watch it now!
    (2011, Lionsgate)
    Based on the novel by Michael Connelly
    Screenplay by John Romano
    Directed by Brad Furman
    Starring Matthew McConaughey as Mickey Haller
    Also starring Marisa Tome, William H. Macy, Josh Lucas, Ryan Phillippe, John Leguizamo, Bryan Cranston, Margarita Levieva, Frances Fisher, Michael Peña

TELEVISION

  • THE LINCOLN LAWYER
    (2021, CBS– in development)
    10 one-hour episodes
    Based on the novel The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly
    Showrunner: Ted Humphrey
    Executive producers: David E. Kelley, Ted Humphrey, Ross Fineman
    Writers: David E. Kelley, Ted Humphrey
    Starring Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as MICKEY HALLER
    and Neve Campbell as Maggie McPherson
    Also starring Jazz Raycole, Becki Newton

FURTHER INVESTIGATION

THE DICK OF THE DAY

Report respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.

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