The Lincoln Lawyer Season 3: Complete Timeline and Key Events Explained

There are numerous time jumps and flashbacks in season three of The Lincoln Lawyer, which blur the timeline and make it difficult to tell how much time has passed. Based on Michael Connelly’s books, the Netflix series follows Mickey Haller, a private defense lawyer, and his team as they take on significant criminal cases.

The Gods of Guilt, the novel in which Mickey defends Julian La Cosse, charged with killing his former client Glory Days, is adapted for the third season of The Lincoln Lawyer.

The Lincoln Lawyer season 2 finale on Netflix flawlessly establishes this plot and continues where the previous episode left off. Season 3 often jumps around in time instead of telling everything steadily linearly. Keeping track of everything that has happened over time, how much time has gone by, and what happens during the time jumps can be difficult. But every component is necessary for The Lincoln Lawyer’s season three conclusion.

In Lincoln Lawyer Season 3: How Much Time Passes? Full Timeline Explained

Julian La Cosse’s trial and jail sentence are the main events of The Lincoln Lawyer season 3, which begins when Mickey officially takes on the case and ends when they settle for wrongful imprisonment.

In episode 2, it is disclosed that Julian will have to remain incarcerated until the trial because he is facing special circumstances charges. Even though Mickey anticipates Julian’s incarceration to last eight months, the real duration is a little longer.

The interval between episodes two and three is six months. According to Izzy, the trial in the latter case won’t begin for another three months. In addition to taking the bar exam, Lorna states that she will not receive her results for three months.

Mickey affirms at the beginning of episode 6 that the trial is two months away. By episode 6, Lorna is getting her bar exam results, and Julian’s trial is about to begin. Julian spent nine months in jail before his court date rather than eight, considering everything.

The final episode jumps four months ahead of the previous nine, making the total timeframe 13 months after Julian’s charges are dropped. Long periods have been shortened on the show before. Even in the best situations, court cases proceed slowly, so the gaps are usually a narrative necessity in the legal drama genre. Nearly all of the time lapses occur off-screen, unlike many TV series.

Viewers are also left to fill in all the blanks regarding the characters’ experiences in The Lincoln Lawyer. The onscreen period spans the month between episodes three and six. Since Mickey’s team is still getting ready for the trial, the gap in episode 6 is obvious. However, the six months between episodes two and three are less explicitly covered, necessitating conjecture based on contextual cues.

What occurs Between Episodes 2 And 3 in Lincoln Lawyer Season 3?

The first time jump in season three of The Lincoln Lawyer occurs between episodes two and three, and during those six months, several events occur. The beginning of a casual romantic and sexual relationship between Andy and Mickey is the most noticeable change.

To give the audience a sense of the dynamic between the couple during those six months, Mickey tells Lorna after the time jump that she used to pull away whenever he attempted to make things more serious.

Lorna presumably completed law school in six months and focused entirely on her studies, as evidenced by her taking the bar exam in episode three of The Lincoln Lawyer. Eddie’s attitude also changes significantly between the two episodes.

When the young man first begins working with Mickey, he seems tense. By the third episode, he appears happier, tries new foods, and interacts with the other team members. This suggests he is more comfortable and content in his role with Mickey.

Flashback: Mickey Haller’s First Court Case Against Neil Bishop in The Lincoln Lawyer

Mickey surfs the morning before the court in the opening scene of the flashback in The Lincoln Lawyer, season 3, episode 1. They arrange a date night when Maggie visits him. He and Maggie continue to have a loving and affectionate relationship based on their interactions, demonstrating that their disagreements didn’t become serious until after he left the public defender’s office.

In the subsequent flashback, Mickey questions Neil Bishop, a detective at the time, regarding his execution of a search warrant for a suspect’s home. When he unlawfully searched a car, he discovered evidence of a crime.

If he claims on the stand that it was in the garage at the time, Mickey shows this is untrue. Neil Bishop’s animosity toward Mickey is established in this scene, showing that he is a police officer who will break the law to achieve his goals.

Bishop initially acts in the interest of justice, but it’s a slippery slope from accepting bribes to lying in court to violating a search warrant. Remarkably, he continued to work as a detective for at least five years following the unlawful search warrant.

This can be determined because he met Agent De Marco on the scene of the double homicide ten years before season three of The Lincoln Lawyer. Neil’s journey illustrates a system prepared to overlook officers’ harmful actions, supporting Legal Siegal’s claim that the bad guys with badges are the worst.

Flashback: Mickey Haller’s Encounter with Glory Days in The Lincoln Lawyer

She was once a witness in the Jesus Menendez case but ran away before she could testify, as the Netflix series reveals when it premieres Glory Days in season 1. The first encounter between Mickey and Glory Days is depicted in the flashback in episode 2 of season 3 of The Lincoln Lawyer.

It doesn’t add anything to the narrative because the events fit the previously established story. Both the deceased woman and her attorney, however, have a lot of character development opportunities in the flashback.

When others would have written Glory off, Mickey showed her great empathy. His own experience with addiction likely influenced his belief in her. But he’s also grounded, telling her that people wouldn’t believe what she’s saying in her current condition.

For her to be in a better mental state to testify, he offered to assist her in detoxing from the drugs she was using. Both characters are portrayed in a far more delicate and vulnerable manner. Glory isn’t acting unyielding, and Mickey isn’t attempting to be tough as usual.

Flashback: Agent De Marco’s Meeting with Neil Bishop in The Lincoln Lawyer

The first encounter between Neil Bishop and Agent De Marco is depicted in a flashback in the season three finale of The Lincoln Lawyer. By taking advantage of Neil Bishop’s vulnerabilities, De Marco was able to buy him off from continuing to look into the double homicide.

In the end, this scene gives background information on how and why Bishop came to be responsible for the death of an innocent woman. Finally, the reason for this flashback was also to explain Neil Bishop’s dubious actions before the season 3 finale of The Lincoln Lawyer. His hatred for Mickey stemmed from blackmail as much as a personal grudge.

About The Lincoln Lawyer

The Lincoln Lawyer is an American legal drama television series created for television by David E. Kelley and developed by Ted Humphrey, based on the books of Michael Connelly.

It stars Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Mickey Haller, a defense attorney in Los Angeles who works out of a chauffeur-driven Lincoln Navigator rather than an office. Neve Campbell, Becki Newton, Jazz Raycole, Angus Sampson, and Christopher Gorham also star.

The first season is based on Connelly’s 2008 novel The Brass Verdict, a sequel to his novel The Lincoln Lawyer. It premiered on Netflix on May 13, 2022.