Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill (HHM), formerly Hamlin & McGill, is a large law firm based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was established by Chuck McGill and George M. Hamlin, with George's son Howard later being promoted to main partner and CEO of the firm.
History[]
Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill was founded by Chuck McGill and George M. Hamlin; Chuck mentored George's son Howard as he took his bar exam and joined the firm. Later, Chuck convinced his younger brother Jimmy to move to New Mexico to make a legitimate living working in HHM's mail room. It was there that Jimmy met Kim Wexler.
When Jimmy earned a law degree from a diploma mill and passed the bar exam (after failing twice), he sought a job at HHM. However, Chuckāaghast at the idea of Jimmy, a former con artist, practicing lawāinstructed Howard to block his advancement. Jimmy eventually left HHM and began a thankless career as a solo practitioner, taking on any work he could, including working with the public defender and writing wills.
Better Call Saul[]
Season 1[]
A year-and-a-half before the start of the series, Chuck took leave from HHM due to supposedly developing electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS). The firm gives him a weekly stipend of $26,000, which Jimmy feels is an attempt to cheat Chuck out of his rightful share. After Jimmy confronts Howard, HHM gives Chuck a new stipend of $857. Meanwhile, Jimmy fails to land Craig and Betsy Kettleman, a couple accused of embezzling county funds, as new clients. They subsequently turn to HHM. ("Uno")
Jimmy spends illicit money on a billboard advertisement which shares obvious visual similarities to HHM's brand, leading the firm to sue Jimmy for trademark infringement. When Jimmy is ordered to remove the billboard, he stages an emergency in which he "rescues" the worker taking down the advertisement. Howard and Kim see through the ruse, but the incident gives Jimmy exposure in the local media. ("Hero")
When the Kettlemans reject Kim's proposed plea deal and drop HHM, Jimmy learns that Howard has demoted her to document review, a.k.a. the "cornfield," as punishment. To help Kim, Jimmy has an acquaintance, Mike Ehrmantraut, steal the Kettlemans' ill-gotten money, to be delivered to the district attorney. Jimmy successfully pressures the couple into taking their case back to HHM and accepting Kim's proposal. ("Bingo")
While soliciting elderly clients, Jimmy discovers that the Sandpiper Crossing nursing home is overcharging its residents. He takes his findings to Chuck, who agrees that Jimmy has built a solid case. Chuck is invigorated enough by the Sandpiper investigation to work through his EHS and return to HHM. However, Jimmy learns that the firm will handle the case themselves while he will be cut out in exchange for a finder's fee. Jimmy later agrees to the deal when he discovers Chuck's role in holding him back when he worked at HHM. ("RICO", "Pimento")
Jimmy pays Howard a visit to officially hand over the Sandpiper case to HHM. With a zen-like calm, he also gives Howard a list detailing the errands that heād been performing daily for Chuck. Howard is amazed at Jimmyās dedication to his brother, and reminds Jimmy that he always had a soft spot for him. ("Marco")
Season 2[]
Jimmy accepts a new job with the Santa Fe-based firm of Davis & Main, which is working with HHM in litigating the Sandpiper case. Chuck sits in and "bears witness" at a meeting between HHM and Davis & Main as Jimmy discusses his clients. ("Cobbler")
When Jimmy airs a sensationalistic TV commercial for the Sandpiper lawsuit without approval from Davis & Main's partners, the ripple effect is felt at HHM. Howard and Chuck punish Kimāwho had recommended Davis & Main to hire Jimmyāby demoting her to document review for a second time. Feeling that Chuck is going after Kim as a tactic to force him into quitting law, Jimmy tries to convince her to sue HHM, which she declines. Chuck later allows for Kim to be reinstated, but she is still treated coldly by Howard. ("Amarillo", "Gloves Off", "Rebecca")
Kim realizes that HHM is a dead end for her career and considers joining the firm of Schweikart & Cokely. Eventually she resigns from HHM to launch twin solo firms with Jimmy and is hired by Mesa Verde Bank and Trust. Howard talks Chuck into persuading Mesa Verde to stay with HHM at Kim's expense. In retaliation, Jimmy copies Chuck's Mesa Verde files and forges incorrect addresses on them before they are mailed to the state regulator. At a hearing, confusion over the address leads to a six-week delay in the opening of Mesa Verde's new branch. Mesa Verde fires HHM and returns to Kim. ("Fifi", "Nailed")
Season 3[]
Chuck, having compelled Jimmy to confess to forging the Mesa Verde files on tape, provokes him into committing a break-in in order to have him disbarred. However, his scheme ends in disaster at Jimmy's bar hearing when he exposes Chuck's EHS as a delusion, causing Chuck to lash out on the stand. Later, Jimmy approaches a malpractice insurance agent he shares with Chuck and discloses his brother's mental problems and breakdown in court. ("Chicanery", "Expenses")
Due to Chuck's outburst at the bar hearing, word of his illness gets out; Howard spends the next two weeks hosting three meals a day with HHM's clients in order to perform damage control. Furthermore, HHM's malpractice insurer seeks to double premiums on each of the firm's attorneys as long as Chuck, with his mental issues, continues practicing law. Eager to appease the insurer, Howard attempts to convince Chuck to retire. An angered Chuck retaliates by suing HHM for breach of contract. ("Slip", "Fall")
Chuck attempts to pressure Howard by offering to drop the lawsuit in exchange for Howard dropping the idea of retirement. Instead, Howard calls out Chuck for putting his personal vendettas ahead of HHM's well-being and for betraying their friendship in the process. He hands Chuck a severance check for $3 million (the first of three installments), which comes out of his own pocket and thus eliminates Chuck's financial leverage over the firm. Chuck is forced to stand by and watch as Howard tells his staff of his immediate departure. Soon after, Chuck suffers a relapse of his EHS delusion and commits suicide by letting his house catch fire. ("Lantern")
Season 4[]
Howard and staff members from HHM, as well as other members of the Albuquerque legal community, attend Chuck's funeral. Plagued by guilt over his perceived role in Chuck's death, Howard struggles with depression while HHM has difficulty paying off Chuck's estate, necessitating layoffs. Howard tells Jimmy that the events of the previous seasons have hurt HHM's reputation, and when Jimmy asks whether there is a plan to set the firm on the right track, he is unable to answer. Jimmy tries to motivate Howard to save the firm by calling him a "shitty lawyer but a great salesman." ("Smoke", "Quite a Ride", "PiƱata")
A year after Chuck's suicide, HHM establishes a new law library in his name. At the library's dedication, Howard gives an interview to Joey Dixon's film crew and admits that while it's been a tough year, HHM is making a comeback and will be Chuck's lasting legacy. Jimmy, who sits on a scholarship committee under the terms of Chuck's will, attends a meeting at HHM to help determine who will receive the scholarship and makes an argument for Kristy Esposito, a candidate that no one else voted for because of a prior shoplifting offense. ("Winner")
Season 5[]
Howard approaches Jimmy with an offer to join HHM, expressing regret for not previously hiring him. He claims that the firm is growing again and that he could use someone with Jimmy's personality and talents, having been impressed by his arguments during the scholarship committee meeting. In response, Jimmy vandalizes Howard's car and publicly humiliates him by having two prostitutes accost him during lunch with Cliff Main, the senior partner at Davis & Main. After Howard confronts her about Jimmy's behavior, Kim resolves to embark on a scheme that ends with Howard losing his career. ("Namaste", "Something Unforgivable")
Season 6[]
Jimmy and Kim's scheme against Howard involves multiple phases, most of which concern manipulating Cliff into believing that Howard is a cocaine addict. ("Wine and Roses", "Carrot and Stick", "Hit and Run") Cliff eventually confronts Howard over his purported drug problem. Howard is initially flummoxed by the allegations, but realizes that Jimmy is plotting against him when Cliff mentions having lunch with Kim near the scene of one of Jimmy's stunts. He confronts Jimmy directly and beats him in a round of amateur boxing, then has a private investigator track Jimmy's movements. ("Black and Blue")
The final phase of Jimmy and Kim's plot involves a mediation session between HHM, Davis & Main, and Sandpiper's legal team from Schweikart & Cokely, scheduled to be held at HHM's offices. Part of this phase involves hiring an actor to impersonate Rand Casimiro, the mediator. However, Jimmy chances upon seeing the real Casimiro at a wine store and notices he is wearing a sling on his left arm, which contradicts staged photos they have taken of the actor and threatens to blow up the whole plan. Upon being informed by Jimmy, Kim elects to forego a social engagement in Santa Fe and drives back into Albuquerque. ("Axe and Grind")
Jimmy and Kim manage to reshoot the photos, which are delivered to Howard by his private investigator, who is really a con man on Jimmy's payroll. The photos, which are laced with a psychotropic drug, cause Howard to become uncomfortable and have dilated pupils. Upon seeing the real Casimiro at the mediation, an agitated Howard accuses him of being bribed by Jimmy. However, he discovers that the photos have been switched for ones of Jimmy with his sound technician in disguise. The mediation breaks down and Sandpiper's legal team goes back to their previous offer. Howard realizes that has been thoroughly duped, and is forced by Cliff to accept the offer and settle the case.
That night, Howard visits Kim and Jimmy's apartment and angrily confronts them for tearing down his reputation for fun. However, Lalo Salamanca, a dangerous Mexican drug kingpin who is one of Jimmy's clients, unexpectedly turns up at the apartment and shoots Howard in the head, killing him. ("Plan and Execution") Mike later stages the murder as a suicide by abandoning Howard's car at a beach several states away, while his body is buried alongside Lalo's in the underground excavation at Gustavo Fring's laundry. ("Point and Shoot")
Shortly thereafter, in order to distance themselves from Howard's now-tarnished legacy, HHM downsizes, moves to a smaller office across town, and changes their name to "Brookner Partners." ("Fun and Games")
Appearances[]
Better Call Saul[]
Episodes | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season 1 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||||||
Season 2 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||||||
Season 3 | ✔ | ✔ | |||||||||||
Season 4 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||||||
Season 5 | |||||||||||||
Season 6 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Trivia[]
- The HHM Logo features a trademarked color named "Hamlindigo Blue". ("Hero")
- With Howard Hamlin's death in "Plan and Execution", all three of the named partners at the law firm are deceased.