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Howard G. Hamlin is a fictional character who appears in the crime drama television series Better Call Saul, a spin-off and prequel of Breaking Bad. He is portrayed by Patrick Fabian and was created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould.
Initially a foil for and longtime antagonist of Saul Goodman, his hostility and actions towards Jimmy are later revealed to have been largely due to pressure from Chuck McGill, his business partner and Jimmy's elder brother. His attempts to correct his past behavior towards Jimmy culminate in devastating consequences.
The season six episode "Plan and Execution" features the murder of Howard by Lalo Salamanca. The writers explored dozens of possible ways for Howard's story to end. One idea they considered involved Lalo taking Howard, Jimmy, and Kim hostage but they thought Lalo killing Howard was "a perfect way to scare the ever-living shit out of Jimmy and Kim, to put a bullet in this stranger's head and move on to part two of his plan."
When Chuck brings his younger brother Jimmy from Chicago to turn him away from his conman past, Howard agrees to employ Jimmy in HHM's mail room. Jimmy becomes impressed with Chuck's legal work as well as that of Kim Wexler, a law student who also works in the mail room, leading Jimmy to get his own law degree through correspondence school. After Jimmy passes the bar exam, Chuck secretly instructs Howard to deny him advancement at HHM. Unaware of Chuck's machinations, Jimmy becomes resentful towards Howard and starts his own practice from an office in the back of a nail salon, which eventually becomes successful.
With Chuck unable to leave his house, Howard attempts to buy out his share of the partnership with a token payment. As Chuck's caregiver and de facto guardian, Jimmy refuses and demands that if Howard buys Chuck out, he pay the full value.
Howard drives a dark green 1998 Jaguar XJ8, with the license plate "NAMAST3" (namaste).
When Jimmy delivers Chuck's newspapers the next day, he removes the local one so that Chuck will not see the story about the billboard rescue. Chuck braves the outdoors to take his neighbor's paper and sees the story about Jimmy's trick. The neighbor calls the police, who break into Chuck's home and use a taser to subdue him. Chuck is rushed to the hospital, where the doctor tells Jimmy that Chuck's illness is psychosomatic and recommends he be committed to a mental institution. Howard arrives and tells Jimmy the district attorney has agreed to drop the charges and allow Chuck to return home. Jimmy believes Howard does not want Chuck to be hospitalized so that Howard can continue attempting to buy out his partnership. Jimmy angrily tells Howard he intends to have Chuck committed, but tells Kim he said it only to irritate Howard.
The media attention from Jimmy's staged rescue causes him to start an elder law practice. When he uncovers possible fraud at the Sandpiper Crossing retirement home, Chuck helps him confirm the details. Jimmy and Chuck initiate a class-action suit, which becomes too large for them to handle alone, so Chuck suggests taking the case to HHM. Howard arranges for a meeting with Jimmy and Chuck at HHM and takes steps to accommodate Chuck's EHS. HHM agrees to take the case and Howard offers Jimmy twenty percent of the final judgment or settlement and an of counsel fee of $20,000, but makes clear that Jimmy will not continue to participate in the case. Jimmy demands to know why Howard has always excluded him. Howard does not provide satisfactory answers, so Jimmy angrily refuses to hand off the case.
Kim confronts Howard about his treatment of Jimmy. Howard is initially resistant, but then tells Kim the truth—that Chuck secretly asked him to block Jimmy. Jimmy figures out on his own that Chuck was responsible. He gives HHM the Sandpiper case, disengages from daily interaction with Chuck, and obtains Howard's agreement to take over Chuck's care. After seeing Jimmy's routine for himself, Howard is impressed with the time and effort Jimmy has put in and assigns Ernesto, an HHM employee, to continue caring for Chuck.
Howard and Kim each work to obtain Mesa Verde as a client. The bank's president and legal counsel, Kevin and Paige, initially agree to hire Kim. Howard and Chuck meet with Kevin and Paige, and Chuck's damning of Kim with faint praise causes them to change their minds and retain HHM. When Chuck breaks down from the stress of appearing "normal" while meeting with Kevin and Paige, Jimmy tells Ernesto he will stay overnight with Chuck. Jimmy uses the opportunity to alter several documents in an application for a new Mesa Verde branch. At the next meeting of the banking board, the errors are uncovered. With Mesa Verde facing a loss of time and money because of the incorrect documents, Kevin and Paige leave HHM and retain Kim. Chuck immediately suspects that Jimmy sabotaged him and works to prove it. He tricks Jimmy into confessing to his deceit and secretly records his confession.
As a cost-cutting move, Jimmy attempts to obtain a refund on his malpractice insurance premium. Informed that the policy has to stay in effect in case he is sued during his suspension, Jimmy feigns worry over Chuck's condition, but his knowing smile as he leaves indicates he is aware he has caused a problem for Chuck. Insurance company representatives inform Howard and Chuck that because of Chuck's condition, he will need to be constantly supervised by another attorney or HHM will face a steep increase in its premium. Chuck wants to fight, but Howard urges him to retire, so Chuck sues HHM. Outraged that Chuck would rather bankrupt the firm than retire, Howard uses personal funds and loans to buy Chuck out of the firm. Chuck is forced to retire, and becomes even more reclusive and mentally unstable, ultimately setting fire to his house while still inside.
When Howard sees Kim at the courthouse, she tells him she quit Schweikart and Cokely and her work for Mesa Verde Bank so that she can concentrate on pro bono criminal defense cases. Howard tells Kim about Jimmy's recent harassment campaign against him and blames Jimmy for Kim's decision. Kim laughs at Howard, says she is insulted by the idea that she cannot decide for herself, and tells Howard that she knows Jimmy better than he does. Howard angrily replies that Chuck knew Jimmy better than anyone else. That evening, Kim tells Jimmy about her meeting with Howard and initially suggests continuing to harass him. Her idea evolves into a serious plan to sabotage Howard and force a resolution of the Sandpiper case, which will enable Jimmy to obtain his seven-figure share of the expected settlement sooner. Jimmy counsels against it, but Kim shows that she is serious about undermining Howard.
After Gus Fring kills Lalo, Howard is buried alongside him underneath the construction site of Gus's meth lab, but Mike Ehrmantraut first removes Howard's wedding ring, wallet, and shoes to use in making his death appear to be a suicide. Jimmy and Kim attend Howard's memorial at HHM, where Rich Schweikart reveals the firm is downsizing and rebranding. Cheryl is suspicious of the circumstances surrounding Howard's death, but Kim falsely claims she previously saw him snorting cocaine at work and suggests Cheryl was so inattentive she missed the signs of his supposed drug addiction, causing Cheryl to break down in tears. The next day, Kim leaves Jimmy after telling him she knew Lalo was alive before he arrived at their apartment and killed Howard, but kept it to herself for fear that Jimmy would end their plan to ruin Howard's reputation, which she enjoyed, but now regrets. She then leaves for Florida to work at a Sprinkler company. In 2010, Kim receives a rare call from Jimmy, who is on the run and hiding in Nebraska following the events of Breaking Bad. Kim tells Jimmy that he should turn himself in for his crimes, but this only angers Jimmy who sarcastically goads her into confessing about Howard's death, since everyone else involved with it and the resulting cover-up is now also dead. Kim takes his words seriously and returns to Albuquerque to give Cheryl an affidavit detailing the plot to sabotage Howard's reputation and the true circumstances of his death. Kim says she gave a copy to the district attorney's office, but likely will not face prosecution given the lack of evidence, lack of surviving witnesses (besides Jimmy, although she does not mention her call with him), and the absence of Howard's remains. Once Jimmy is arrested, he tries to use information about Howard's death to get his sentence reduced via a plea deal, only to be told that Kim has already confessed which surprises Jimmy. Jimmy later learns from Bill Oakley that Cheryl is considering filing a wrongful death lawsuit against Kim. In his final court appearance, Jimmy lures Kim there with lies about her involvement in Howard's death which he quickly retracts, as he just wanted her to be there. He then confesses to all his crimes including his role in Chuck's death and expresses great sadness over what happened to Howard, before receiving a life sentence.
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