If you’re an avid watcher of legal dramas and courtroom procedurals, you’ve likely been following along with the hit Netflix original series The Lincoln Lawyer. The show, which has received acclaim from audiences and critics alike, is set to premiere its long-awaited third season on Oct. 17. While fans are definitely chomping at the bit to dive directly into the new season, it’s important to take a quick look back at the first two installments of the show in order to brush up on the many character arcs and ongoing sub-plots. The Lincoln Lawyer has a reputation for being quite dense, and packing numerous side-plots into each season, so there’s plenty of pertinent information that may leave you scratching your head if you barrel forward without a brief but thorough crash course.
Luckily, we’ve got you covered, with a comprehensive guide to seasons one and two of The Lincoln Lawyer, along with a look ahead at what comes next. Needless to say, the following write-up will contain heavy spoilers for the entirety of the series thus far, so please feel free to bookmark this page and return later if you’re not caught up yet. Even if you’ve only recently completed a binge of the show, we’ll give you a full rundown of anything you should keep abreast before diving into season three, so be sure to follow along!
What Happened at the End of Season One?
All the way back in May of 2022, The Lincoln Lawyer concluded its first season, which was largely based on Michael Connelly’s 2008 novel The Brass Verdict. The series centers on hot-shot defense attorney Mickey Haller, as he files cases, meets with clients and catches glances, all from the back seat of his chauffeur-driven Lincoln Navigator. The first season of the series concludes with a show-stopping testimony from a woman of the night named Gloria Dayton, who exonerates Mickey’s client Jésus Menendez, and frees him from prison. During her testimony, Gloria admits that she was attacked by a killer with a distinctive tattoo, touting an unknown phrase written in Japanese. The killer, who is still on the loose, is revealed to be watching Mickey from afar as the eponymous lawyer works to eliminate corruption in the courtroom.
Once Menendez is released from prison, Mickey ensures that Judge Holder is jailed herself, for accepting bribes and allowing the jurors in her courtroom to be compromised. In fact, the hot-shot lawyer spends a great deal of time in the season one finale of The Lincoln Lawyer doing detective work of his own, even surmising that his vehicle has been bugged by the judge, in one of many disturbing steps taken to cover up her illicit crimes. Eventually, Mickey gains so much notoriety for his high-profile cases, that he lands himself on the cover of the LA Times as LA’s hottest defense lawyer, but that won’t come until the season two premiere.
What Happens in Season Two of ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’?
Mickey enters into the second season of The Lincoln Lawyer on an all-time high. His enemies have been largely thwarted in the streets and in the courts, and his newfound fame has made him the object of desire and envy from the general public. Despite riding high in his Navigator, Mickey still finds himself clashing with the district attorney, who commands the LAPD to reopen Jésus Menendez’s case, jeopardizing the young man’s freedom once more. To make matters worse, the LAPD seem to be retaliating against Gloria due to her affiliation with Mickey by tailing her at all hours, resulting in her being arrested on solicitation and narcotics charges. Luckily, Mickey is able to work together with Gloria and the DA in order to arrange for the arrest and capture of the true murderer, a man who is revealed in season two to be Russell Lawson.
The rest of season two adapts its main case from the book The Fifth Witness, which was penned by Connelly in 2011. The investigation revolves around a professional chef and restaurant owner named Lisa Trammell, who is accused of murdering a local real estate developer. When Mickey first meets Lisa, it seems as though the pair are planning a romantic evening, though right before they prepare to be intimate, Lisa asks the Lincoln lawyer for his professional council, causing him to call off their romance. As the case plays out in court, we learn that Lisa and the developer were known enemies who were fighting over Lisa’s refusal to sell the land her restaurant was built on. To make matters worse, the weapon used to murder the mogul is a hammer which belonged to Lisa, though she claimed that it was stolen from her tool shed.
Is Lisa a Murderer?
By the end of The Lincoln Lawyer‘s second season, Mickey manages to beat Lisa’s case, exonerating her from the murder charge. The true murderer is revealed to be a building inspector by the name of Walter Kim, who aided the developer in a number of illegal activities. Despite this uplifting conclusion, Mickey is shocked to learn that Lisa actually did murder someone- just not the man she was accused of killing in court. As it turns out, the restauranteur murdered her ex-husband as a means of gaining full ownership of the business, and buried his body under the herb garden. This twist also helps to explain why Lisa refused to sell her land, even when the developer was offering her much more than it was worth. Once Mickey discovers the truth, he cuts ties with Lisa, while Mickey’s ex wife Lorna calls for an investigation into Lisa’s past.
While the resolution of Mickey and Lisa’s story may be upsetting for many fans who were hoping to see them end up together, this leaves things wide open for the Lincoln lawyer to reconcile with his ex-wife Maggie. Despite Mickey having overt sexual tension with nearly every woman on the show, his heart still belongs to Maggie, and the pair have a long-standing will-they won’t-they thing going on throughout both seasons of the series. Maybe season three will finally be the year that the writers throw caution to the wind and payoff the slow-burn romance. For now we’ll just have to wait and see.
What About Cisco and Lorna?
While Mickey’s legal and personal troubles with Lisa take center stage in The Lincoln Lawyer season two, the instalment also sees new developments for Cisco and Lorna. Throughout the season, Cisco continues associating with the Road Saints motorcycle gang, primarily through his connection with Kaz. At the end of the first season, Cisco assured the leader of the gang that he would keep an eye on Kaz, to be sure that he wouldn’t be a problem for the gang. This plan begins to unravel in the final episodes of the season, as Cisco learns that Kaz is colluding with the feds. The last time that we see Cisco meeting with Teddy, the Road Saints’ leader, he assures the biker that things are all good, though we can assume that things are about to go nuclear for the gang in the upcoming third season.
Meanwhile, Lorna is hard at work studying to become a full-fledged lawyer under the tutelage of Mickey. She manages to finally marry Cisco even though their preferred wedding venue was unavailable due to a double booking, when they elope to a courthouse for a spontaneous signing of the marriage license. Though her special day doesn’t go quite how she pictured it, Lorna is shocked to see a large surprise reception has been arranged for her at Izzy’s newly renovated studio.
What Can We Expect From ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ Season
Three?
Season two of The Lincoln Lawyer wrapped things up in a much neater way than the first edition, though there are still many threads left for Mickey and the gang to explore. For starters, the second season ultimately ends with Mickey discovering that Gloria Dayton has been murdered. The man who stands accused of killing her, Julian Lacosse, has inquired Mickey about representing him in court, though the season ends before it’s confirmed that Mickey will take the case. Furthermore, a mysterious figure by the name of Alex Grant has been built up as a big bad for the future of the show throughout The Lincoln Lawyer season two, so tensions between him and Mickey will surely come to a fever pitch soon.
Grant is a mob-affiliated construction tycoon who is under investigation from the FBI, and frequently clashes with Mickey over the politics of the court. Mickey suspects that Grant is involved in both the Menendez and Trammell cases through illegal meddling, witness intimidation and other felonies, which really makes him seem like the puppet master of the entire show so far. In order to see exactly how things play out between Mickey, Alex Grant, and the rest of the cast, be sure to tune in to The Lincoln Lawyer season 3 on Oct. 17.
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