On Tuesday, September 16, 2025, the Supreme Court of Louisiana suspended attorney Stacey L. Thomas from practicing law for one year and one day. This decision stems from formal charges filed by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC).
The case is entitled “In the Matter of Stacey L. Thomas,” with case no. 2025-B-00926.
Thomas has a history of disciplinary issues. In 2012, she received a fully deferred six-month suspension for mishandling a real estate closing, subject to a two-year unsupervised probation. Then, in 2014, she faced reciprocal discipline for actions in Alabama, including practicing law while ineligible, failing to diligently handle a case, neglecting client communication, and failing to protect client or third-party property. This resulted in a 91-day suspension, retroactive to February 13, 2012, the date of her interim suspension in Alabama. As of now, Thomas has not been reinstated to practice law in Louisiana.
The recent suspension is a result of a complaint filed in October 2023 by Bruce Johnson, who alleged that he paid Thomas $1,500.00 to handle property claim matters, but she failed to communicate with him or take action on his case.
The ODC’s attempts to contact Thomas about the complaint were initially unsuccessful. Correspondence sent to her primary and preferred registered addresses with the Louisiana State Bar Association (LSBA) was returned as undeliverable. An email to her registered email address was also rejected because the mailbox was disabled. Although she eventually received the complaint at her secondary registered address in December 2023, she did not respond by the given deadline.
In May 2024, the ODC managed to contact Thomas by phone, during which she admitted to not responding to the complaint. She was granted an extension until June 6, 2024, to respond, but she did not do so until July 2, 2024. Furthermore, she failed to provide the requested documents to support her reply, despite multiple extensions. During the May 2024 phone call, Thomas also acknowledged that her LSBA-registered contact information was inaccurate and assured the ODC that she would update it. However, as of June 2025, she had not done so.
In January 2025, the ODC filed formal charges against Thomas, alleging violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct, specifically Rule 1.1(c) (failure to comply with annual registration requirements, including timely notification of address changes) and Rule 8.1(c) (failure to cooperate with the ODC in its investigation). Thomas did not respond to these charges, leading to the factual allegations being deemed admitted and proven.
The hearing committee determined that Thomas violated duties owed to the legal system and profession, knowingly causing harm to the disciplinary system. They cited her failure to cooperate with the investigation and maintain current contact information, which made it impossible to investigate and resolve Johnson’s complaint. Citing the ABA’s Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions, the committee determined that the baseline sanction was suspension.
Aggravating factors included her prior disciplinary record, dishonest or selfish motive, a pattern of misconduct, multiple offenses, bad faith obstruction of the disciplinary agency, refusal to acknowledge the wrongful nature of her conduct, and substantial experience in law practice. No mitigating factors were found.
The hearing committee initially recommended a one-year and one-day suspension, along with an assessment of costs and expenses. Neither Thomas nor the ODC objected to this recommendation.
The Disposition states:
“Upon review of the findings and recommendation of the hearing committee, and considering the record, it is ordered that Stacey L. Thomas, Louisiana Bar Roll number 27892, be suspended from the practice of law for one year and one day.”
According to Avvo.com, Ms. Thomas is an attorney in McIntosh, Alabama. She attended the Southern University Law Center, graduating in 2000. She acquired her law license in Louisiana in 2002.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
