Mickey Haller

In the 2011 film, Mickey (Matthew McConaughey) agrees to defend Louis Roulet, a rich playboy accused of assault. Bit by bit he realizes Roulet also committed an old murder that Jesus Martinez, a former client of Mickey's, is locked up for. Roulet admits it, knowing privilege ties the lawyer's hands.

After investigator Frank Levin is killed, Mickey finds the bullet came from his late father's antique pistol. In court he gets Roulet off the current charge but nails him for the old crime with help from his ex-wife, Maggie McPherson.

In the end, Roulet's mother, Mary Windsor, confesses to killing Levin and shoots Mickey, who kills her when she tries to fire again. Martinez goes free, and Mickey takes a biker gang's case pro bono.

On the Netflix series, Mickey (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) has spent a year and a half recovering from a surfing accident and a painkiller addiction. He gets back to work by inheriting the entire caseload of Jerry Vincent, a murdered colleague.

With Lorna, his second ex-wife, investigator Cisco and his new driver Izzy, he defends video game designer Trevor Elliott. Trevor is acquitted and killed soon after, and Mickey learns Jerry had bribed a judge to rig the jury.

On the show, Mickey doesn't work alone. Lorna Crane, his second ex-wife, runs the office and later becomes an associate at the firm. Her husband, Cisco, is the investigator who knocks on doors. Izzy Letts, a former client, becomes the Lincoln's driver and later the office manager.

Across the courtroom is Maggie McPherson, his first ex-wife and a prosecutor. They respect each other, argue, and stay in each other's lives. And on the police side there's Detective Raymond Griggs, who fills the spot Harry Bosch holds in the books.

Mickey wins an acquittal for chef Lisa Trammell, accused of killing a developer, and only later learns she killed her ex-husband. The next season, the murder of Giselle Dallinger, a former client, turns personal. He defends the accused, Julian La Cosse, whose charges are dropped after Bishop confesses and takes his own life.

In S4, Mickey is charged with killing his client Sam Scales and has to defend himself, with his team hunting for whoever framed him and prosecutor Dana Berg on the other side. The charges are dropped, but Mickey demands a public exoneration. At the end, his half-sister, Emi, appears.

In the books, Mickey is Harry Bosch's half-brother. Since Bosch belongs to another show, Netflix created Detective Raymond Griggs instead. The 2011 film and the series are separate continuities.