N.Y. Judiciary Law § 488: Buying demands on which to bring an action

§ 488. Buying demands on which to bring an action. An attorney or

counselor shall not:

1. Directly or indirectly, buy, take an assignment of or be in any

manner interested in buying or taking an assignment of a bond,

promissory note, bill of exchange, book debt, or other thing in action,

with the intent and for the purpose of bringing an action thereon.

2. By himself or herself, or by or in the name of another person,

either before or after action brought, promise or give, or procure to be

promised or given, a valuable consideration to any person, as an

inducement to placing, or in consideration of having placed, in his or

her hands, or in the hands of another person, a demand of any kind, for

the purpose of bringing an action thereon, or of representing the

claimant in the pursuit of any civil remedy for the recovery thereof.

But this subdivision does not apply to:

a. an agreement between attorneys and counselors, or either, to divide

between themselves the compensation to be received;

b. a lawyer representing an indigent or pro bono client paying court

costs and expenses of litigation on behalf of the client;

c. a lawyer advancing court costs and expenses of litigation, the

repayment of which may be contingent on the outcome of the matter; or

d. a lawyer, in an action in which an attorney's fee is payable in

whole or in part as a percentage of the recovery in the action, paying

on the lawyer's own account court costs and expenses of litigation. In

such case, the fee paid to the attorney from the proceeds of the action

may include an amount equal to such costs and expenses incurred.

3. A lawyer that offers services as described in paragraphs b, c and d

of subdivision two of this section shall not, either directly or through

any media used to advertise or otherwise publicize the lawyer's

services, promise or advertise his or her ability to advance or pay

costs and expenses of litigation in such manner as to state or imply

that such ability is unique or extraordinary when such is not the case.

4. An attorney or counselor who violates the provisions of this

section is guilty of a misdemeanor.