Ethics as the foundation of civil litigation practice.
The Ethical Lawyer Network is a member-centric organization dedicated to elevating the ethics of personal injury law practice, casting a light on the systemic abuses that are permeating the legal industry and empowering our members to grow and thrive, free from the toxic pressures of the industry's bad actors and their harmful practices.
What we are reforming
Lack of transparency
- Victims are often left uninformed or misinformed on case status, strategy, fees, and liens.
- Deliberately vague and misleading referral chains deprives victims of crucial information regarding their legal representation.
- Misleading, inflated, or deficient fee agreements.
Victim manipulation
- Victims are pressured to settle for the benefit of unethical lawyers and third-party litigation funders.
- Victims are steered toward treatment or funding that serves the financial interests of third-parties, often causing greater harm and reduced settlement values to the injured parties.
- Victims deliberately deceived through the failure to adequately explain terms, documents, and processes.
Corrupt legal practices
- Neglected files.
- Missed deadlines.
- Conflicts of interest.
- Violation of client confidentiality.
- Improper splitting of legal fees in referral arrangements.
Predatory third-party funding
- Lack of transparency.
- Usurious terms applied to both attorneys and victims.
- Non-attorney interference with legal and litigation decision-making.
A national network of vetted attorneys
- Provide legal representation to at least 1 million victims in personal injury, class action, and mass tort civil litigation over the next three years.
- Enable members to deploy capital into victim identification and verification without investing in expensive headcount and advertising.
- Operate compliant with the Arizona Alternative Business Structure statute, with member ownership undiluted by outside interests.
- Guarantee victims, co-counsel, and the courts radical transparency.
- Recruit a maximum of 100 lawyers nationwide to a private plaintiff steering committee on behalf of an estimated one million injured veterans.
Who is eligible
- 01At least five (5) years of practicing civil litigation law.
- 02Ideally at least ten (10) successful personal injury jury trial verdicts or similar outcomes.
- 03Affirmation of the member oath and adherence to the TELN Standards of Care and Ethical Pledge.
- 04Affirmed financial ability and willingness to actively participate in the Personal Injury program within 30 calendar days of admission.
A binding member oath, renewed annually, pledging exemplary professional conduct, ethical compliance, and dedication to excellence.
From application to renewal
Application
Practice profile, disciplinary history, and character assessment. Signed affirmation supporting the TELN Mission Statement, Standards of Care, and Ethical Pledge.
Vetting
Bar standing and disciplinary record verification, background and social media check, and confirmed ability and willingness to actively participate in the TELN programs.
Decision
Admission decision issued following completion of the vetting process and an interview with TELN leadership.
Ongoing review
Annual renewal contingent on plaintiff satisfaction scores, reporting compliance, and pledge adherence.
What members receive
- Access to all TELN services including the Personal Injury and Mass Tort Programs.
- Access to transparent and bar-compliant litigation funding for Mass Tort Program participants.
- Verified victim identification and verification services in the member's jurisdiction.
- Ability to participate in group attorney advertising programs leveraging TELN's engagement with over one million veteran victims.
- An allocation of class action and mass tort leads at no additional cost to an ongoing PI campaign, based on membership level.
- Listing on TELNs exclusive member directory and the associated referrals.
Enforceable, attested, annual
Every member signs the TELN Standards of Care and Ethical Pledge covering competence, diligence, communication, fees, confidentiality, conflicts, and reporting obligations — and attests to adherence annually. The full pledge is available to members in the document library.