Do many attorneys take pay-offs

Answer

The question not being more specific makes it a little difficult to answer. Nevertheless, if it is referring to attorneys taking bribes to manipulate the outcome of a case, then the answer is most definitely, NO ! However there always exception.

If it pertains to a settlement for debt, then the answer would be yes, although it is not the attorney who receives the settlement amount it is the creditor who is owed the debt.
_____
It depends on what you define as a "pay-off" and how the pay-off is carried out. According to a lifelong friend who has worked for 30 yrs as an insurance claims agent and later executive of a major insurance company, "The lawyers, judges, clinics and doctors involved in accident cases involving a lot of money,routinely make crooked deals behind the scenes between insurance company lawyers, judges and doctors. There are even a few lawyers who have NEVER lost an insurance case he said. He said he was pressured in various ways, with insinuations etc, to do things which he knew were unethical but couldn't be proven clearly,and they were being done by everyone involved on both sides of the question, so it was either go along with the flow or quit a good paying career. He recommended that if you have an injury from an accident, always sue and if you choose a Jewish lawyer, you are almost guaranteed to win a big settlement!" One of the techniques of payoff is when there is a large insurance settlement, the lawyer will, without the permission of his client, assign the settlement monies to an "Annuity Trust" instead of giving the money to his client directly. This is favorable to the other side and also enables the unscrupulous lawyer to collect a hefty commission for putting the money in the Trust.