No statutory cap, but reasonableness still applies
Arkansas imposes no statutory percentage cap on attorney contingency fees in general personal injury or medical malpractice cases. The fee is set by private agreement between attorney and client, subject to Arkansas Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5(a), which requires the fee to be reasonable. 33.3%, or one-third, is a commonly used figure.
A real ballot fight over this exact question
In 2016, a proposed constitutional amendment would have capped attorney contingency fees in medical-injury cases at one-third of the recovery after expenses, tied to a companion cap on non-economic damages. It was framed as protecting the "lion's share" of a client's recovery from legal fees. The measure did not succeed, and no statutory or constitutional cap on contingency fees exists in Arkansas today — but it's a real sign of how contested this question has been in the state.
What else comes out before you do
Case costs — expenses the attorney typically advances during litigation, like expert witness fees, filing fees, and the cost of gathering medical records — are generally reimbursed from the settlement. If Medicare, Medicaid, or a private health insurer has an outstanding lien for medical treatment related to the injury, that amount is also repaid before you receive your net share.