On Wednesday, April 30, 2025, the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board recommended a three-year suspension for attorney Henry L. Klein, extending his current suspension, due to multiple violations of professional conduct rules. The decision, detailed in a 25-page report, stems from formal charges filed by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC) on January 30, 2024, accusing Klein of misconduct in several court applications to appear pro hac vice.
The case is entitled “In the Matter of Henry L. Klein,” with case no. 24-DB-004.
Klein faced allegations of violating Rules of Professional Conduct, including making false statements to tribunals, failing to disclose material facts in bar admission applications, and engaging in conduct involving dishonesty and prejudice to the administration of justice. The Board found that Klein knowingly misrepresented his disciplinary history in applications to federal courts in Illinois, California, and Oklahoma, omitting prior suspensions, reprimands, and sanctions.
The charges originated from a complaint by Lisa Billman and Jeffrey Pyle, attorneys with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, who noted Klein’s failure to disclose a pending disciplinary case and prior sanctions in a January 2023 motion to appear pro hac vice in the U.S. Northern District of Illinois. Similar misrepresentations occurred in 2022 in the Eastern District of California, leading to the revocation of Klein’s pro hac vice status, and in 2019 in the Northern District of Oklahoma, where his application was denied after the court discovered prior discipline. Klein also omitted a civil contempt finding and sanctions from cases in the Eastern District of Louisiana.
The Board determined that Klein violated rules concerning candor toward tribunals, bar admission integrity, and professional misconduct by engaging in deceitful conduct. However, it found insufficient evidence to prove Klein failed to cooperate with the ODC’s investigation. The recommended three-year suspension, retroactive to June 27, 2023, aligns with Klein’s existing suspension from a prior case involving disparaging remarks and improper court filings.
Klein’s disciplinary history spans decades, including a 1975 private reprimand, a 90-day suspension in 1987 for deceiving a client and mishandling funds, a 1988 reprimand, a six-month suspension in 1989 for neglecting legal matters, admonitions in 1993 and 2018, and the 2023 suspension. The Board noted aggravating factors, such as Klein’s prior offenses, pattern of misconduct, and lack of remorse, with the only mitigating factor being the remoteness of some earlier violations.
The hearing, held on July 29, 2024, included testimony from Billman, with stipulated similar testimony from Pyle. Klein, representing himself, did not testify or present evidence. The hearing committee initially recommended a one-year-and-one-day suspension, but the Board, after a February 20, 2025, oral argument, opted for a harsher penalty, citing Klein’s intentional misconduct and its impact on judicial processes. The Board also recommended that Klein cover the costs of the proceedings.
The recommendation states:
“The Board recommends that Henry L. Klein’s suspension in Klein III be extended such that his total suspension is for a three-year period beginning June 27, 2023, the effective date of the suspension in Klein III.”
According to Avvo.com, Mr. Klein is a securities and investment fraud attorney in New Orleans, Louisiana. He acquired his law license in Louisiana in 1968.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
