Justin Peacock, Suits and Lincoln Lawyer Writer, Dead at 52

Justin Peacock, a lawyer-turned-writer that worked on a couple of prolific TV shows, has died. The writer and producer was known for multiple TV titles, but most notably USA’s long-running series Suits and Netflix’s hit adaptation of The Lincoln Lawyer. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s office (per Deadline), Peacock died in his home on July 13th. He died of natural causes due to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease at the age of 52.

Peacock originally studied to be a lawyer and earned degrees from the University of Michigan, Columbia University, and Yale Law School. In 2008, after years of working as a lawyer, Peacock published his first novel, A Cure for Night. The book was nominated for an Edgar Award, was named one of The Washington Post’s Books of the Year, and helped kick off his career as a TV writer. 

His work on Suits, a legal drama on the USA Network, began in 2011, and he ended up writing for the show for a total of three seasons. Peacock is the credited writer on five of the show’s episodes. He then ended up working for Netflix as a writer and producer on The Lincoln Lawyer, a legal drama from David E. Kelley, based on the book series by Michael Connelly.

For the last couple of months, both of Peacock’s shows have been some of the most popular in the world of streaming. The second season of The Lincoln Lawyer was recently released by Netflix, around the same time the service added Suits to its streaming lineup. Both legal dramas have been among Netflix’s top TV performers this summer.

In addition to Suits and The Lincoln Lawyer, Peacock was a writer and supervising producer for Fox’s Alert: Missing Persons Unit. Peacock was active on the WGA picket lines during this year’s writers’ strike.

“Justin’s brilliant mind, biting wit, and passionate convictions will be forever missed by his friends and family,” said Peacock’s family.