NEW YORK, June 4 (Reuters) - The National Rifle Association on Friday voluntarily withdrew a federal lawsuit it filed against New York Attorney General Letitia James in the state capital of Albany, and said it will instead pursue the same claims in a state court in Manhattan. James had sued the gun rights group last August, seeking its dissolution. The NRA filed for bankruptcy protection in January in a bid to avoid her lawsuit, but a federal bankruptcy judge ruled last month that it did so improperly. The attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Jonathan Oatis) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.