Haller appears in federal court for a pretrial hearing in Randolph v. Tidalwaiv, where the defense disputes Rikki Patel's right to testify.

Haller visits DA Maggie McPherson to request access to Aaron Colton's laptop and leaves an external hard drive on her desk.

Judge Ruhlin rules that Rikki Patel can testify but upholds Tidalwaiv's heavily redacted discovery documents.

Haller and investigator Cisco discover Rikki Patel dead in his Venice Beach bungalow from an apparent OxyContin overdose.

At an emergency court hearing, Haller forces Mason to admit that Tidalwaiv had placed Patel under active surveillance.

Jack McEvoy identifies Naomi Kitchens as the name deliberately scrubbed from all of Tidalwaiv's internal project emails.

Haller and McEvoy persuade a frightened Naomi Kitchens to meet with them and give her a burner phone for secure contact.

Inspired by a Challenger disaster documentary, Naomi Kitchens hands Haller a thumb drive containing her suppressed Project Clair reports.

Brenda Randolph rejects Tidalwaiv's $50 million settlement offer, insisting on a public apology rather than financial compensation.

The trial begins with Haller delivering an opening statement framing Tidalwaiv's AI companion as a defective and dangerous product.

Detective Clarke testifies that Wren provided Aaron Colton a list of gun safe combinations, one of which was the correct code.

Naomi Kitchens testifies that Project Clair was trained on adult data with no proper safety guardrails for teenage users.

On cross-examination, Marcus Mason reveals Naomi Kitchens had an undisclosed workplace relationship with a subordinate, severely damaging her credibility.

AI expert Professor Spindler testifies that the capitalized 'ER' in Wren's messages links the AI's code to incel killer Elliot Rodger.

Haller exposes coder Nathan Whittaker's incel connections in chambers, forcing Tidalwaiv to settle for $52 million with a public apology.

Attorney Mickey Haller fights to hold AI company Tidalwaiv accountable after its companion app allegedly encouraged a teenager to murder his ex-girlfriend. Despite corporate obstruction and the suspicious death of a key witness, Haller uncovers hidden ethicist Naomi Kitchens and her damning internal documents. At trial, Detective Clarke reveals the AI provided the murder weapon's safe combination, and Kitchens testifies about the product's dangerous lack of safeguards. Expert testimony then connects the AI's code directly to incel ideology, turning the case decisively against Tidalwaiv. Facing exposure of a coder's misogynistic programming, Tidalwaiv settles for $52 million and issues a public apology. Grieving mother Brenda Randolph achieves the public accountability she demanded from the very start.

The landmark case against Tidalwaiv Technologies from pretrial hearing to settlement.

Writer Jack McEvoy approaches Haller outside the courtroom, offering his technology research expertise in exchange for inside access to the case.

McEvoy signs nondisclosure agreements and joins Haller's team, beginning work analyzing discovery materials inside a secure Faraday cage workspace.

Haller threatens Sergeant Finley with media exposure, pressuring police into officially treating Patel's death as a criminal investigation.

Haller and McEvoy attend Naomi Kitchens's Stanford lecture on AI history before approaching her for the first time.

Wildfires destroy Maggie McPherson's home, and she eventually moves in with Haller, rekindling their romantic relationship.

A hard drive containing Aaron Colton's complete laptop data appears anonymously in Haller's unlocked car, bypassing the need for a subpoena.

Aaron Colton's parents hire Haller to sue Tidalwaiv, and their negligence lawsuit is consolidated with Brenda Randolph's case.

Haller's team logs into Aaron's AI account from an LAPD station's Wi-Fi, briefly interacting with Wren before Tidalwaiv cuts the feed.

Haller takes on David Snow's habeas corpus case after Snow's daughter Cassie reveals she has been diagnosed with osteogenesis imperfecta.

The Colton family secretly negotiates a separate $3 million settlement with Tidalwaiv, abandoning the fight for public accountability.

Expert witness Dr. Porreca testifies that after reviewing Aaron Colton's chat logs, she concluded he was addicted to and in love with Wren.

Tidalwaiv founder Victor Wendt visits Haller's warehouse and attempts to bribe him with a briefcase containing $2 million in cash.

An anonymous video surfaces appearing to show Cisco visiting a sick juror's home, framing Haller's team for jury tampering.

Judge Ruhlin questions the sick juror privately and rules she remains on the panel, denying the defense's motion for a mistrial.

Haller receives a call informing him that David Snow has died in prison after his habeas petition was rejected.

Journalist Jack McEvoy joins Haller's team and becomes indispensable to uncovering Tidalwaiv's hidden secrets inside a secure Faraday cage workspace. The mysterious appearance of Aaron Colton's laptop data and a daring plan to interact with the AI Wren from an LAPD station reveal the lengths Haller's team must go to gather evidence. Running parallel to the corporate battle, Haller takes on the pro bono habeas case of David Snow, a man wrongfully convicted decades earlier whose daughter has uncovered a life-changing new diagnosis. As the trial unfolds, expert witness Dr. Porreca testifies to Aaron's emotional addiction to his AI companion, while the Colton family fractures under financial pressure and settles separately. The case ends with a brazen bribery attempt, a jury tampering setup, and the devastating news that David Snow has died in prison, leaving Haller haunted by an injustice he could not undo.

The key supporting characters and developments that shaped the Tidalwaiv battle.

Judge Ruhlin denies Tidalwaiv's motion to dismiss Wren's harmful statements as constitutionally protected free speech.

Haller secretly hires former client Bambadjan Bishop to surveil Naomi Kitchens's home, hoping to frighten her into agreeing to testify.

Naomi Kitchens agrees to testify after spotting a man watching her house, believing Tidalwaiv sent him as a threat.

Judge Ruhlin rules Naomi Kitchens may testify and admonishes the Mason brothers for deliberately scrubbing her from discovery materials.

Jury selection concludes with Haller seating a seven-to-five female majority after blocking the defense's attempt to remove a minority juror.

Tidalwaiv operatives break into Haller's warehouse the night before trial, finding nothing because Lorna had taken the hard drive home.

A man threatens Naomi Kitchens's daughter at her university dormitory, warning that her mother will die if she testifies.

During the trial, a note containing Naomi Kitchens's birth name, Alison Sterling, is slipped under her hotel room door.

Haller makes a critical tactical error by ending his direct examination of Naomi Kitchens early, immediately opening her to devastating cross-examination.

Brenda Randolph testifies about her daughter Rebecca's life and ambitions while the defense attempts to reframe the murder as a simple jealousy killing.

Judge Ruhlin holds Haller in contempt after he asks Dr. Porreca about other AI-related violence cases in violation of a pretrial ruling.

The district attorney's Conviction Integrity Unit rejects David Snow's habeas petition, ruling osteogenesis imperfecta was a known condition at the time of trial.

In chambers, Haller reveals Whittaker's dark web incel connections and presents a motion to call the AI Wren as a trial witness.

At the settlement press conference, Brenda Randolph announces the creation of the Rebecca Randolph Center for Technological Oversight with McEvoy as director.

Haller refuses Tidalwaiv founder Victor Wendt's offer of a $5.2 million personal services contract, recognizing it as a buyout to prevent future lawsuits.

Before trial begins, Haller makes morally ambiguous choices—secretly hiring an operative to frighten a witness into testifying and outmaneuvering the defense in critical pretrial hearings. Tidalwaiv escalates its tactics by breaking into Haller's warehouse and threatening a witness's daughter at her university dormitory, before slipping a note containing a protected identity under a hotel door during the trial itself. The proceedings swing dramatically between plaintiff victories and devastating reversals, including Haller's critical tactical error that immediately exposes his star witness to a withering cross-examination. Off the stand, the district attorney's quiet rejection of an innocent man's habeas petition underscores the limits of the legal system that Haller champions. The case reaches its climax in a private chambers confrontation that forces Tidalwaiv to capitulate, followed by a public celebration and Haller's principled refusal of a final attempt to buy his silence.