How to Choose a Personal Injury Lawyer in Kentucky: A Checklist

Every lawyer who practices in Kentucky is licensed through the Kentucky Bar Association (KBA). Before you sign anything:

• Confirm the license. Use the KBA's Find a Lawyer directory to confirm the lawyer is a member in good standing.
• Check for suspensions. The KBA publishes a list of currently suspended and disbarred lawyers.
• Search for discipline. Kentucky Supreme Court disciplinary decisions are public. Searching the lawyer's name with "Kentucky Bar Association v." will usually find them.
• Check the person who will actually handle your case, not just the name on the ad.

Awards and badges are a separate question from the bar record. See our post on what lawyer credentials and awards actually mean.

Most injury lawyers work on a contingency fee: a percentage of the recovery, and nothing if there's no recovery. Kentucky's rules require a contingent fee agreement to be "in a writing signed by the client" and to state:

• The percentage or percentages "in the event of settlement, trial or appeal"
• The litigation and other expenses that will be deducted
• Whether expenses come off before or after the fee is calculated
• Any expenses you'll owe "whether or not the client is the prevailing party"

At the end of the case, the lawyer must give you a written statement showing the outcome and how your share was calculated (SCR 3.130(1.5)). Questions to ask:

• Does the percentage change if the case is filed in court, goes to trial or is appealed?
• Who pays case expenses if we lose?
• How are medical liens and bills handled before I'm paid? See our guide to medical liens in a Kentucky settlement.

For a worked example of how fees and expenses affect what you take home, see our post on what a 30% contingency fee actually means.

Kentucky's advertising rules say that if a lawyer's name or image is used in an ad, that lawyer must be the one who will actually perform the service, unless the ad "prominently discloses" that other lawyers may do the work. Firms that advertise to refer cases elsewhere must say so prominently (SCR 3.130(7.20)). Ask directly:

• Which lawyer will be responsible for my case day to day?
• Who will I talk to when I call?
• Will my case be referred to another firm? If so, how is the fee split, and which firm does the work?

Injury cases differ in how far they go. Some settle early; others need a lawsuit, depositions, testimony from doctors and other outside witnesses, and trial preparation. Reasonable questions:

• How often do you file lawsuits in cases like mine?
• Who will try the case if it doesn't settle?
• What steps happen before you recommend a settlement?
• What's a realistic timeline? See our Kentucky injury lawsuit timeline.

A lawyer who can't explain the plan in plain English at the start probably won't later either. For our view on why preparation matters, see settlement mill vs. trial attorney.

Kentucky lawyers must keep clients "reasonably informed about the status of the matter" and "promptly comply with reasonable requests for information" (SCR 3.130(1.4)). Ask:

• How often will I get updates, and how?
• How quickly are calls and emails returned?
• Will you get my approval before any settlement offer is accepted or rejected?

Settlement decisions are yours to make. A lawyer advises; the client decides.

• Someone contacts you in person or by phone to sign you up. Kentucky lawyers generally may not solicit clients in person, by live phone call or in real-time electronic contact for profit (SCR 3.130(4.5)). Fees from an illegal solicitation are forfeited and must be returned to the client (SCR 3.130(4.6)).
• A letter or email that isn't labeled. Written solicitations to people known to need legal help must say "Advertising Material" on the envelope or in the subject line.
• A promise about the outcome or a specific dollar amount before the lawyer has seen your records. Kentucky prohibits "false, deceptive or misleading" communications by lawyers (SCR 3.130(7.10)).
• Pressure to sign immediately. Take the agreement home if you need to.
• No written fee agreement, or one you don't understand.
• Vague answers about who handles your case.

After a large-scale disaster, as the rules define it, lawyers may not send solicitations to those affected until 30 days have passed.

Taking time to choose is reasonable. Waiting months isn't. Evidence disappears, and Kentucky's filing deadlines can be short. Check our statute of limitations guide. A consultation doesn't commit you to hiring that lawyer.

If you have concerns about a lawyer's conduct, the KBA's Office of Bar Counsel accepts complaints (file a complaint). Client money must be kept in a separate trust account (SCR 3.130(1.15)), so you can ask how and when settlement funds will be disbursed. The KBA also lists lawyer referral services.

We welcome every question on this list. Our fee agreement is in writing, and we'll walk through it with you before you sign. Ask us who will handle your case and how it will be prepared. We prepare every case for trial. Larry Forman has tried 50+ jury trials and won 95% of them. Learn more about Larry Forman or see our case results (past results don't guarantee a similar outcome).