Hunter Biden is suddenly back in big legal trouble — and it could cost him everything. The former first son is being sued by the very law firm that represented him in his federal criminal cases.
Winston & Strawn LLP said the former president’s son owes “substantially in excess of $50,000” in unpaid legal fees and interest.
The law firm filed a breach of contract lawsuit on Monday in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, stating that Hunter Biden has failed to pay for many of their legal services despite repeated requests for payment.
“This is breach of contract action against Mr. Biden for unpaid legal fees,” reads the complaint against the 55-year-old Biden.
Winston & Strawn represented Hunter Biden “in several complex matters, including criminal trial in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware,” according to the lawsuit. The firm provided “extensive legal services in those matters which generated a substantial amount of fees.”
“Although a portion of those fees have been paid, Mr. Biden presently owes [Winston & Strawn] substantially in excess of $50,000 in fees and interest that are due and payable,” the lawsuit states.
“Despite repeated requests for payment, Mr. Biden has failed to pay the amounts he owes,” the complaint said.
Winston & Strawn said it “devoted substantial resources to defend” Hunter Biden and “incurred substantial financial damages” because of his alleged breach of contract.
“While some of Mr. Biden’s bills were paid between March 2023 and October 2024, a substantial amount remains due and owing,” the firm stated. “Mr. Biden never objected to any of W&S’s invoices for the legal services rendered to him.”
The lawsuit seeks “judgment for the amount due, and lien on all Mr. Biden’s assets.”
Hunter Biden signed a contract with Winston & Strawn on December 23, 2022, hiring the firm “with respect to any congressional oversight and investigation events in which you are involved, help your coordinate the work of other attorneys, advisors, related parties on pending issues and communications strategy, and assist in the investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and US Attorney for the District of Delaware.”
The contract shows attorney Abbe Lowell, who has since left Winston & Strawn, had a “current hourly rate is $1,510” while billing rates for other attorneys and legal assistants at the firm “range from $230 to $1,945 an hour.”
“As of April 30, 2025, the outstanding amount due, when factoring in invoiced amounts and interest, is substantially in excess of $50,000,” according to the firm.
Winston & Strawn represented Hunter Biden in both his Delaware gun case and federal tax case. Hunter Biden was convicted of three felonies for illegally purchasing a firearm while using drugs and later pleaded guilty to felony and misdemeanor charges for failing to pay more than $1.4 million in federal taxes from 2016 to 2019.
Former President Joe Biden pardoned his son in December, just weeks before leaving office, after years of denying he would do so. It was a sweeping, historically unprecedented pardon that included any crimes for the past decade.
“No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong,” Biden said in his December 1 pardon statement.
“There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough,” the former president said.
During the congressional impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden, Hunter’s financial backer Kevin Morris told investigators he has been paying “various attorneys” on behalf of the former president’s son. In May 2024, Morris reportedly told associates he was “completely tapped out” amid mounting legal bills.
Hunter Biden has made nearly $1.5 million selling abstract artwork to Democratic donors in recent years. A California venture capitalist also claimed in 2024 that Hunter had failed to pay over $300,000 in rent for the megamansion in Venice, California he rented from 2019 to 2020.
An initial hearing in the Winston & Strawn case is scheduled for September 19. Winston & Strawn declined to comment on the lawsuit, and Abbe Lowell did not respond to requests for comment.