The core promise: no recovery, no fee
A contingency fee means the attorney's fee is contingent — dependent — on actually winning or settling the case. If there's no recovery at all, the client generally owes no attorney fee, regardless of how much work went into the case.
What SCR 3.130(1.5) actually requires
Kentucky Supreme Court Rule 3.130(1.5), the state's version of Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5, sets the governing standard: a lawyer's fee must be reasonable. For a contingent fee specifically, the method used to compute it generally needs to be clearly set out in the written agreement, so the client understands exactly how the percentage will be applied.
This standard has real disciplinary consequences
The reasonableness requirement isn't just a formality. The Kentucky Bar Association has brought disciplinary proceedings against attorneys found to have collected an unreasonable fee under SCR 3.130(1.5)(a), including orders requiring the attorney to return the excess portion directly to the client.
A nuance worth knowing: fee-shifting can't be stacked
When a separate statute awards attorney fees to the prevailing party as part of a judgment, Kentucky ethics guidance holds that the attorney generally can't collect both that court-awarded fee and the full contingent fee from the client on top of it — the two are typically offset against each other, with the client benefiting from whichever arrangement produces the lower total cost.
No specific percentage written into law
Beyond these procedural and ethical requirements, Kentucky sets no specific percentage ceiling for a personal injury or medical malpractice contingency fee. The rate is negotiated privately between attorney and client, commonly landing between 33% and 40% of the total recovery.