A Manhattan lawyer was ordered to turn over all but $750 of more than $22,000 he collected from two clients after a judge determined the attorney billed the clients up to $450 an hour for time he spent brushing up on basic legal principles.
The clients, Gerald and Vivian Kleinerman, hired Ronny Buni in March 2011 to represent them in litigation against their co-op board, which was already in progress. In June 2011, Buni told the Kleinermans that he would not do any more work on the matter, citing an unpaid invoice for $6,239.
