{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-45a.717","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 45A.717","heading":"Contingency fee for legal services under personal service contract --","body":"Powers and duties of head of contracting body -- Review of responses to\nrequests for proposals -- Limits on contingency fee -- Payment only from\nmoney received pursuant to judg ment or settlement -- Standard addendum to\ncontract -- Posting on Web sites -- Records -- Report -- Common law authority\nabrogated.\n(1) The head of a contracting body, which includes constitutional officers, shall not\naward a personal service contract fo r legal services that provides for payment by\ncontingency fee unless, prior to the award, the head of the contracting body\ndetermines in writing:\n(a) The contingency fee is both cost-effective and in the public interest;\n(b) Sufficient and appropriate legal and financial resources do not exist within the\ncontracting body;\n(c) The amount of time and labor required to perform the requested services;\n(d) The novelty, complexity, and difficulty of the matter;\n(e) The skill required to perform the requested services properly;\n(f) The geographic area where the legal services are to be provided; and\n(g) The experience desired for the particular kind of legal services to be provided.\n(2) The head of the contracting body or his or her designee shall participate in\nreviewing and evaluating the responses to the requests for proposals and discussions\nwith offerors.\n(3) A contingency fee shall not exceed:\n(a) Twenty percent (20%) of the amount recovered up to ten million dollars\n($10,000,000);\n(b) Fifteen percent (15%) o f the amount recovered between ten million dollars\n($10,000,000) and fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000);\n(c) Ten percent (10%) of the amount recovered between fifteen million dollars\n($15,000,000) and twenty million dollars ($20,000,000); and\n(d) Five percent (5%) of the amount recovered of twenty million dollars\n($20,000,000) or more.\n(4) A contingency fee shall not exceed twenty million dollars ($20,000,000), regardless\nof the number of actions or proceedings or the num ber of attorneys or law firms\ninvolved in the matter, and exclusive of any costs and expenses provided for by the\ncontract and actually incurred by the legal services contractor.\n(5) A contingency fee shall be payable only from money that is actually recei ved\npursuant to a judgment or settlement agreement, and any judgment or settlement\nfunds shall be disbursed in accordance with KRS 48.005.\n(6) During the contract period and any extension:\n(a) The head of the contracting body or his or her designee shall retain control\nover the course and conduct of the case and shall retain veto authority over\nany decision made by the contract attorney;\n(b) The head of the contracting body or his or her designee with authority over the\ncontract shall:\n1. Attend all settlement conferences;\n2. Be personally involved in overseeing the litigation; and\n3. Have exclusive decision -making power regarding any settlement of the\nmatter for which the contract was entered; and\n(c) Any opposing party to the matter for which the contract  was entered into may\ndirectly contact the head of the contracting body or his or her designee with\nauthority over the contract, without having to notify the contract attorney.\n(7) The Finance and Administration Cabinet shall develop a standard addendum to  be\nadded to each personal service contract for legal services to include the terms of this\nsection.\n(8) (a) Within five (5) business days after the contract award, the Finance and\nAdministration Cabinet shall post on its Web site each personal service\ncontract for legal services that provides for payment by contingency fee and\nthe accompanying written determinations described in subsection (1) of this\nsection. The contract and accompanying determinations shall remain on the\nWeb site during the duration of the contract and any extension.\n(b) Any payment of contingency fees shall be posted on the contracting body's\nWeb site within fifteen (15) days after the payment of such contingency fees\nto the legal services contractor and shall remain posted on the Web s ite for at\nleast three hundred sixty-five (365) days.\n(9) (a) In addition to the information required of each contingency fee contract by the\nKentucky Model Procurement Code and KRS 45A.695, a contractor awarded\na personal service contract for legal servic es that provides for payment by\ncontingency fee shall maintain detailed current records, including\ndocumentation of:\n1. Expenses;\n2. Disbursements;\n3. Charges and credits;\n4. Underlying receipts and invoices; and\n5. Any other financial transactions that co ncern the attorney services\nrendered under the contract.\n(b) 1. All records described in this subsection shall become public records\nsubject to KRS 61.870 to 61.884 after a judgment or agreement is\nentered in the case and all appeals have been exhausted, but shall not be\npublic records until that time.\n2. Any information that is subject to an evidentiary privilege and is\ncontained within any record described in this subsection shall not be a\npublic record. The privileged information shall be redacted befo re any\npublic disclosure of the record.\n(10) (a) The Finance and Administration Cabinet and the contracting body shall\nsubmit a joint report to the Government Contract Review Committee by\nSeptember 1 of each year identifying all contingency fee contracts f or legal\nservices:\n1. Awarded in the previous fiscal year;\n2. Active in the previous fiscal year, but awarded in prior fiscal years; or\n3. Concluded in the previous fiscal year.\n(b) For each contract, the report shall include:\n1. The written determinations made under subsection (1) of this section;\n2. Any determination made that the contract was not to be procured\nthrough the request for proposal process; and\n3. Any determination made that the contract may be entered into despite a\nfinding of disapproval by the committee.\n(c) In addition, the report shall describe:\n1. The name of the attorney or law firm with whom the contract was made;\n2. The nature and status of the legal matter that is the subject of the\ncontract;\n3. The name of the parties to the legal matter that is the subject of the\ncontract;\n4. The amount of recovery, if any; and\n5. The amount of the contingency fee paid, if any.\n(11) The common law authority of any duly elected statewide constitutional officer is\nspecifically abrogated to the extent it is inconsistent with the provisions of this\nsection.","path":["KRS Chapter 45A"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=47740","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:49:08Z","sha256":"dc4f0ed5bc9f34a6b368854076aef86acb95b74586c04d74058ef3e341987ee2","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-45a.715","next":"us-ky/krs-45a.720"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}