The Lincoln Lawyer Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, and our BookBrowse Review of The Lincoln Lawyer.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. "There is no client as scary as an innocent man." This is the very first line of the book, spoken by J. Michael Haller, a famous criminal defense attorney and the father of Mickey Haller, the main character in The Lincoln Lawyer. Did you understand what this meant? Why would an innocent man scare an attorney?
   


2. "Don't do the crime if you can't pay for my time." When we are first introduced to Mickey Haller, we find out that he is a criminal defense attorney who knows how to play all the angles. He has been in trouble with the California Bar before. His clients are gang members, drug dealers, prostitutes and con men. He does his best for his clients as long as they can pay his bill. He seems to be the kind of lawyer that we all love to hate. How did you feel about this character when you first began reading about him? "I don't know many people who have ex-wives who still like them."
   


3. Later we find out that Mickey has two ex-wives, both of whom are still close to him. One even works for him. He has business associates that are also loyal longtime friends. He has longtime clients who he continues to work for, even when they can't pay him. What does this reveal about his character? Did your feelings toward him as a character change the more you read about him?
   

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Warner Books Inc.. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.