2006 New York Code - Sharing Of Compensation By Attorneys Prohibited.

 
    § 491. Sharing of compensation by attorneys prohibited. 1. It shall be
  unlawful  for  any  person,  partnership, corporation, or association to
  divide with or receive from, or to agree to divide with or receive from,
  any attorney-at-law or group of attorneys-at-law, whether practicing  in
  this  state  or  elsewhere,  either  before or after action brought, any
  portion of  any  fee  or  compensation,  charged  or  received  by  such
  attorney-at-law   or   any  valuable  consideration  or  reward,  as  an
  inducement for placing, or in consideration of  having  placed,  in  the
  hands  of  such  attorney-at-law,  or  in the hands of another person, a
  claim or demand of any kind for the purpose of collecting such claim, or
  bringing an action thereon, or of representing claimant in  the  pursuit
  of  any civil remedy for the recovery thereof. But this section does not
  apply to an agreement between attorneys and counsellors-at-law to divide
  between themselves the compensation to be received.
    2. Any person violating any of  the  provisions  of  this  section  is
  guilty of a misdemeanor.