Why It Matters

Bell Legal Group LLC, the South Carolina-based plaintiff's law firm that spent years pushing Congress to allow veterans and their families to sue the federal government over contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, has filed an LDA termination ending its relationship with lobbyist Daniel Weiss, effective January 1, 2026.

The lobbying registration termination, filed May 1, 2026, closes a chapter on one of the more consequential lobbying campaigns by a single law firm in recent memory. Bell Legal Group's founder, J. Edward Bell III, personally met with more than 200 members of Congress over more than a decade to build support for what eventually became the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, signed into law in August 2022 as part of the broader PACT Act.

What Weiss Was Worth to Bell Legal Group

The Daniel Weiss lobbyist relationship was not a small-dollar engagement. Bell Legal Group lobbying disclosure filings show the firm paid Weiss $22,500 in the first quarter of 2022, then escalated sharply as the Camp Lejeune Justice Act moved through Congress, reaching $330,000 in the fourth quarter of 2022 alone. Payments continued into 2023, with first-quarter 2023 billings of $120,000. Total compensation to Weiss across the 2022 to 2023 period reached at least $647,500.

For context on the firm's broader lobbying footprint, Bell Legal Group spent $1,320,000 on federal lobbying in 2023 alone, according to public disclosures. That is a substantial sum for a private plaintiff's law firm, reflecting just how central the Camp Lejeune legislative campaign was to the firm's business.

The Firm Still Has Eight Other Lobbyists Working

The Weiss termination does not mean Bell Legal Group is stepping back from federal advocacy. The firm's first-quarter 2026 lobbying disclosure filings show it retained eight other lobbying service providers during the same period, spending a combined $120,000. Those firms include Corcoran Partners at $80,000, Liberty Partners Group LLC and Aquia Group LLC each at $20,000, and several others including Cormac Group LLP, Ward and Smith PA, TCH Group LLC, New Century Government Affairs, and individual lobbyist John Light Napier.

Broader Context

The most straightforward explanation for the Weiss LDA termination is that the core lobbying objective was achieved. The Camp Lejeune Justice Act passed in August 2022, giving veterans, service members, their families, and civilians who lived on the base between 1953 and 1987 the right to sue the federal government for damages from contaminated water exposure. The administrative claims filing window, which the Act opened, closed on August 10, 2024. No new claimants can enter the system.

The spike in Weiss's compensation during the fourth quarter of 2022, when the bill was moving through Congress and then became law, maps directly onto the moment when his lobbying work was most valuable. The gradual wind-down that followed tracks the shift from a legislative fight to a litigation campaign.

The Bills That Didn't Pass

While the original Camp Lejeune Justice Act succeeded, the lobbying disclosure filings show that Weiss also worked on legislation that did not advance. Bell Legal Group lobbied on S. 378 and its House companion H.R. 925, both titled the Protect Camp Lejeune VETS Act in the 118th Congress, as well as H.R. 1204, the Protect Access to Justice for Veterans Act. All three bills would have capped attorneys' fees for Camp Lejeune claims. None advanced beyond committee referral.

Bell Legal Group, as one of the lead plaintiff's firms in the Camp Lejeune litigation, had a direct financial interest in opposing those attorney fee caps. That those bills stalled represents a second legislative outcome the firm was working toward, and achieved.

What Congress Is Focused on Now

Bell Legal Group's remaining lobbying teams are tracking S. 907, the Ensuring Justice for Camp Lejeune Victims Act, and its House companion H.R. 4145. Those bills remain active legislative priorities for the firm's retained lobbyists in the 119th Congress, alongside PFAS legislation, veterans' healthcare access, and student loan and Public Service Loan Forgiveness regulatory issues.

The litigation itself has moved to federal courts in North Carolina, where the Department of Justice has paid out more than $421 million in settlements, including $175 million across 649 settlements in just the first two months of 2026, according to publicly available reporting. More than 409,000 claims remain pending, and approximately 24 bellwether trials are moving toward court dates.

The Bottom Line

With Weiss off the roster, the firm's active lobbying team covers a range of congressional and executive branch experience.

Cormac Group LLP brings the largest team, with six lobbyists on the Bell Legal Group account, working across veterans issues, PFAS legislation, healthcare access for underserved populations, and higher education. The firm's lobbyists include Tom Kahn, a longtime Senate Democratic staff veteran, and Elizabeth Iadarola, alongside Jim Link, Jonathan Slade, Colin Mueller, and John Timmons.

Corcoran Partners, the highest-billing firm at $80,000 in the first quarter of 2026, has Mike Corcoran and Matt Blair working on veterans' issues for the client.

Aquia Group LLC has Ryan Dattilo and Stoney Burke focused specifically on the Ensuring Justice for Camp Lejeune Victims Act, tracking both the Senate and House versions of the bill.

Liberty Partners Group LLC has Andrew Woods and Andrew Coats working on veterans' healthcare disability issues and the Camp Lejeune victims legislation.

Ward and Smith PA, a North Carolina-based law and government affairs firm with geographic proximity to Camp Lejeune itself, has Hugh Overholt on the account focused on the Camp Lejeune Justice Act across defense, health, and veterans issue categories. That North Carolina connection is not incidental; the Eastern District of North Carolina is where the Camp Lejeune federal litigation is being adjudicated.

New Century Government Affairs has T.C. Wolfe working on the original Camp Lejeune Justice Act framework, focused on ensuring the legal access provisions for service members, veterans, families, and civilians remain intact.

The breadth of the remaining team reflects where Bell Legal Group's priorities now sit. The firm no longer needs a single lobbyist driving a bill to passage. It needs a distributed network tracking attorney fee cap proposals, new veterans' health legislation, PFAS regulatory developments, and the political environment around mass tort litigation against the federal government. The Weiss termination reflects the conclusion of one phase of that work, not the end of the firm's presence on Capitol Hill.

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