Section 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.