  We analyze the impact of the choice rotation law on equilibrium sequences of
relativistic differentially-rotating neutron stars in axisymmetry. The maximum
allowed mass for each model is strongly affected by the distribution of angular
velocity along the radial direction and by the consequent degree of
differential rotation. In order to study the wide parameter space implied by
the choice of rotation law, we introduce a functional form that generalizes the
so called "j-const. law" adopted in all previous work. Using this new rotation
law we reproduce the angular velocity profile of differentially-rotating
remnants from the coalescence of binary neutron stars in various 3-dimensional
dynamical simulations. We compute equilibrium sequences of differentially
rotating stars with a polytropic equation of state starting from the
spherically symmetric static case. By analyzing the sequences at constant
ratio, T/|W|, of rotational kinetic energy to gravitational binding energy, we
find that the parameters that best describe the binary neutron star remnants
cannot produce equilibrium configurations with values of T/|W| that exceed
0.14, the criterion for the onset of the secular instability.
