The Lincoln Lawyer

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2005

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Chapter 5

Chapters 6-10

Chapters 11-15

Chapters 16-20

Chapters 21-26

Chapters 27-31

Chapters 32-36

Chapters 37-41

Chapters 42-47

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Symbols & Motifs

Devil’s Horns

The devil is a recurring image in the novel. First Mick is referred to as the devil (31). Then Levin calls Roulet the devil and evil. When Levin’s body is found murdered in his office, the detectives roll him onto his back to reveal a hand gesture: Levin made the sign of devil’s horns as he was dying. Mick assumes this means that Roulet is the one who shot Levin, though later he realizes that the devil’s horns were an upside-down “M” for “Mary.” The mistake underscores the presence of evil in both Mary and her son. It becomes clear that Roulet did not act alone, and in fact may have learned some of his evil behavior from his own mother.

Rap Music

Mick likes to listen to rap artists such as Tupac Shakur. He feels that the lyrics help him understand his clients better. For example, he learns that many of his clients actually accept and look forward to serving time in jail like their musical heroes. One such client, McGinley, who sells drugs and weapons despite several arrests, would “recite to me long riffs from Tupac’s CDs. He would translate the meanings of the ghetto lyrics for me…to McGinley, prison was only a rite of passage” (117). These conversations increase Mick’s ability to empathize with street criminals.

When Maggie hears Mick listening to rap she is offended; she thinks rap glorifies criminal behavior and that rappers are “people who should be in jail” (290). However, Mick sees criminals as people: Although they may have done wrong, they can also “have something to say. Some are true poets” (290). Mick’s greatest character strengths shine when he speaks of the complexity of his clients: people that Maggie and police officers tend to see as one-dimensional criminals.

Money

Everything Mick does is for or about money. Mick owns four Lincoln Town Cars, lives in a nice house in the Los Angeles hills, and takes pride in wearing $600 suits every day. He chooses clients solely based on their income and ability to pay his legal fees, often manipulating his clients into paying him early. He talks about the importance of landing franchise clients in order to cover his monthly expenditures, which are always above what he makes. This obsession with money drives him to accept Roulet as a client without thinking twice. Even when Roulet mentions that he chose Mick specifically because he read his name in the newspaper, referencing the Menendez case, Mick is so focused on the potential payout he cannot see the red flag. Similarly, Mick’s pursuit of money causes him to dismiss Jesus as guilty. It will take the loss of Levin, false imprisonment of Jesus, and the realization that he is defending a murderer to change Mick.