A real statutory cap — higher than you'd expect
Unlike many states that rely only on a general reasonableness standard, Oklahoma has a genuine statutory ceiling on contingency fees: 50% of the net recovery, under 5 O.S. Section 7, referenced in Rule 1.5 of the Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct. That's notably higher than the roughly one-third figure common in most states — it's an outer legal limit, not a typical rate.
What attorneys actually charge in practice
Despite the 50% ceiling, one-third of the recovery remains the far more common contingency rate in Oklahoma personal injury practice. The statutory cap mainly matters at the margins — for unusually difficult cases, or when a fee agreement incorporates a statutory attorney fee award into the percentage calculation.
A detailed framework for statutory fee awards
Because many Oklahoma statutes allow a court to award attorney fees against the losing party, the Oklahoma Bar Association has issued detailed ethics guidance on how these interact with a contingency agreement. An attorney may calculate the contingency percentage on the combined total of the damages award plus a statutory fee award, as long as the result still complies with the 50% cap and Rule 1.5's reasonableness standard — but a lawyer may not keep the complete statutory fee award in addition to the complete contingent fee; doing so has been held per se unreasonable.