A dispute over $3.3 million in unpaid legal bills has escalated into public acrimony for Davis Polk & Wardwell, with a former corporate client questioning the firm’s competence and industry expertise.
Davis Polk sued Enel North America and two affiliated entities in New York state court on August 11, seeking roughly $3.3 million in outstanding legal fees plus interest. According to the complaint, the sum covers more than 2,000 hours of legal representation for Enel subsidiary High Lonesome Wind Power in high-stakes litigation involving Allianz Risk Transfer.
Enel has responded aggressively. In statements reported by legal media, an Enel North America spokesperson characterized Davis Polk’s claims as “self-serving,” accusing the Wall Street firm of inflating invoices, performing unnecessary work, and lacking specialized energy-sector experience. The company confirmed it intends to file counterclaims.
The $125 Million Storm
The underlying conflict dates back to February 2021, when Winter Storm Uri paralyzed the Texas energy grid. High Lonesome, which operates a major West Texas wind farm, had entered into a weather-risk derivative contract with an Allianz affiliate.
Following the freeze, calculation mechanisms under the agreement generated an alleged liability exceeding $125 million against High Lonesome.
Allianz filed suit in the Southern District of New York in 2022. Davis Polk successfully argued on High Lonesome’s behalf that the dispute belonged in arbitration, securing a favorable ruling from U.S. District Judge Gregory Woods in March 2024.
Despite the win, relations soured. Davis Polk alleged that Enel ceased paying invoices in late 2024 while work continued, accumulating millions in unpaid balances by mid-2025.
Davis Polk subsequently withdrew from the matter, and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher took over representation for High Lonesome in the ongoing $200 million dispute.
Litigating the Bill
To defend against Davis Polk’s claim, Enel retained New York litigation boutique Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, a firm with some high profile experience in fee battles, having previously sued former clients Rudy Giuliani and Steve Bannon over unpaid invoices.
While Davis Polk frames the matter as a simple breach-of-contract collection action for work performed without contemporaneous objection, Enel’s counterclaims threaten to trigger invasive discovery.
For BigLaw firms, public fee suits carry inherent reputational exposure: they open the door to line-by-line judicial scrutiny of partner staffing, billing judgment, internal communications, and hourly value delivery.
