No person holding the office of confidential clerk or law secretary to a justice of the supreme court shall hereafter be appointed by any court or judge in any action or proceeding instituted in the supreme court, a referee, receiver or commissioner, except that in uncontested matrimonial actions, a confidential clerk or law secretary who is an attorney in good standing admitted to practice in the state may be appointed by an administrative judge to serve without fee as a referee for the purpose of hearing and reporting to the court.
New York Legal Code