The Ethical Lawyer Network, led by Camp Lejeune veteran Ron Lasorsa, wants to reward attorneys who play by the rules and protect the veterans who need them most
More than two million American veterans are caught up in mass tort litigation tied to injuries suffered during their service. For many of them, getting fair compensation means dealing with a part of the legal system that has become crowded with lead brokers, aggressive advertisers, and high-fee financing. One Marine who has spent years inside that system has built an organization to change how it works.
The Ethical Lawyer Network (TELN), at teln.law, is a membership organization for personal injury, mesothelioma, and mass tort attorneys who commit to a higher ethical standard. Its central promise is simple: help honest lawyers grow their practices without turning to the bad actors that have damaged public trust in civil justice, and make sure injured veterans and their families are represented well.
The man behind the mission
TELN co-founder and CEO Ron Lasorsa knows this world from the inside. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, he served as a Marine Corps officer at Camp Lejeune from 1990 to 1994, including service in Operation Desert Storm, and worked as aide-de-camp to the base’s commanding general while earning a master’s in business administration from Boston University.
After the Marines, Lasorsa spent a decade on Wall Street, first as an investment banker and derivatives trader at JPMorgan and later running prime brokerage securities trading at UBS. He then moved into legal services and litigation finance, where he built and sold a Washington, D.C. law firm for roughly $40 million under the District’s rule allowing non-lawyer partners. By TELN’s account, his work helped generate more than $500 million in legal fees and led a client attorney to seats on four mass tort plaintiff steering committees.
That experience also showed him the industry’s worst habits up close. Lasorsa has become an outspoken critic of fraud in mass tort litigation, especially in claims involving veterans. He has publicly challenged lawyers who charge veterans far above the 25 percent standard of the Federal Tort Claims Act in Camp Lejeune water cases, and has proposed amendments to the Litigation Transparency Act of 2025 aimed at rooting out fraudulent claims and exposing who is really funding mass tort lawsuits.
“Ron has seen what goes wrong in this industry, and he built TELN to be the opposite of it,” is the message the organization carries.
A leadership team built for trust
Lasorsa is joined by two co-founders. Jack Marshall, Esq., TELN’s Chief Legal Ethicist, is a Harvard College and Georgetown Law graduate, a member of the D.C. and Massachusetts bars, and a nationally known legal ethicist who has trained lawyers, bar associations, and government agencies for more than 30 years. His work with attorneys harmed by predatory firms led him to seek out Lasorsa as an ally.
David Pauli, TELN’s CTO, brings three decades of technology leadership in regulated industries such as law, finance, and healthcare. He has designed fraud-detection and behavioral-analytics systems for the legal sector, holds degrees in cybersecurity and computer science, and is a graduate of the FBI Citizens Academy and a member of the FBI’s InfraGard program.
What TELN offers attorneys
TELN provides three core services to member firms:
- Victim identification. Through TELN-branded group attorney advertising, the network finds and verifies injured people and delivers a complete case package with a signed retainer.
- Plaintiff verification. Identity and fraud screening on every file, plus “CleanDocket” certification of existing dockets, backed by expert witness testimony and a full audit trail. This service is also open to defendants and lenders who want fraud removed from their books.
- Ethical litigation finance. A “10-to-1” program in which members can receive up to ten mass tort claims for every personal injury or mesothelioma claim they finance with TELN working capital.
The organization draws hard lines that set it apart. Member firms keep full ownership and control. There is no private equity pressure and no non-attorney influence on legal decisions. Services are offered at flat, fixed fees, and TELN states plainly that it is not a law firm and that members are not buying cases.
TELN’s leadership reports that over their careers they have analyzed and verified tens of thousands of injured claimants in mass tort cases with total settlement values above $500 million.
Membership is earned, not sold
Joining TELN starts with a confidential discussion. Attorneys are vetted on bar standing and experience, and must sign the TELN Ethics Pledge. Membership renews annually and depends on plaintiff satisfaction scores, reporting compliance, and adherence to the pledge. TELN’s operating goal is 100 percent plaintiff satisfaction, measured through independent surveys on every matter.
Members who advance into TELN’s Veteran Mass Tort Program work under co-counsel agreements and may be eligible for a private plaintiff steering committee drawn from a select group of member attorneys.
Capital from people, not hedge funds
TELN’s funding model is designed to keep Wall Street out of the courtroom. Working capital for the Mass Tort Program comes from individual investors and non-profit organizations only, through SEC-registered offerings overseen by FINRA-registered broker-dealers. No private equity, hedge fund, or institutional money is accepted, and investors have no say in case strategy. Recoveries pay plaintiffs first, then repay investors and replenish the program for the next veteran.
How to get involved
Personal injury, mesothelioma, and mass tort attorneys who want to grow their practices on verified cases, and who are ready to hold themselves to a higher standard, can request a confidential membership discussion at teln.law/contact.
Supporters, veterans’ advocates, and organizations who share TELN’s mission can reach the team at [email protected]. Prospective investors should review TELN’s registered offering documents for complete terms.
For veterans who have already given so much, TELN’s message is that the legal system owes them honesty, and the lawyers who serve them should be the best of the profession.
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