The other is Hank Morris, Mr. Hevesi's former political adviser, who was accused by Mr. Cuomo of requiring money managers to pay Mr. Morris before they could win lucrative contracts from the New York fund, one of the nation's largest.

Some technology firms have built up patent-licensing businesses — following the lead of companies like International Business Machines Corp. and Qualcomm Inc. — and use lawsuits as a tool to win lucrative settlements.

Companies still rely strongly on outside pay consultants, and some of the same firms that advise companies on how much to give CEOs are paid even more in lucrative contracts for other services to the same companies.