Conflict Ignites Between the Port-au-Prince Bar and Caleb Jean-Baptiste's Firm

The Port-au-Prince Bar has prohibited Me Caleb Jean-Baptiste from practicing in its jurisdiction and ordered the closure of his firm. The lawyer denounces the decision as illegal, claiming it is politically motivated. The standoff intensifies. Port-au-Prince, July 7, 2025 – A new confrontation is shaking the Haitian judicial world. The Port-au-Prince Bar, through an official notice published this Monday, July 7, 2025, announced the prohibition for Caleb Jean-Baptiste to plead in its jurisdiction and the immediate closure of his firm located in Delmas 83. This decision, stemming from a Disciplinary Council meeting held on July 3, is justified as a measure aimed at “protecting the public” and enforcing discipline within the profession. Immediately, the case was forwarded to the Aquin Bar for legal action. A sign that the matter is taking on a national dimension. But Caleb Jean-Baptiste does not intend to back down. In a statement released shortly after, the firm Caleb Jean-Baptiste & Associés denounces an “arbitrary and illegal decision” made without respecting procedures. The lawyer asserts that he was never summoned, heard, or officially notified of the measure, which, according to him, constitutes a serious violation of his rights. Citing articles 50, 52, and 53 of the decree of March 29, 1979, governing the legal profession in Haiti, Jean-Baptiste maintains that the President of the Port-au-Prince Bar does not have the authority to issue such a prohibition without a judicial decision. He accuses the acting President of the Bar, Max Standley Lafortune, of having acted unilaterally, outside of any legal framework. Furthermore, the lawyer denounces targeted persecution. According to him, this measure is an attempt to remove him from sensitive cases in which he is involved: embezzlement cases involving the National Education Fund (FNE), a dispute opposing him to UNIBANK bank, or ongoing proceedings against entrepreneur Betty Lamy. He also mentions a “system of settling scores” that he claims has targeted him in the past by other figures of the bar, notably citing the names of Me Stanley Gaston and Me Marie Suzy Legros, who were then Presidents of the Bar. Despite the disciplinary measure, Caleb Jean-Baptiste announces that he will continue his activities legally and will appeal to the competent jurisdictions to annul this decision, which he considers “null and void.” He affirms that his firm will remain open and will continue to defend its clients “against judicial abuses.” So far, no official reaction has been recorded from the national judicial authorities.
The case, now in the hands of the Aquin Bar, could open a new explosive judicial phase. Me Caleb believes that only this bar, to which he is affiliated, is eligible to rule on his case. Wideberlin Sénexant