He graduated from Frederiksborg Latin School in 1783 and passed his legal exams (cand.jur.)

[1] He was a lawyer at the Hof- og Stadsret from 1791 and became a Supreme Court Attorney in 1792.

He was in addition chief legal officer of the Danish Asia Company 1812–19 and briefly served as director of the Bank of Denmark in 1818.

[1] Klingberg was recognized as one of the leading lawyers of his time and acted as defense attorney in a number of high-profile cases, for instance for Conrad Malte-Brun.

Klingberg died on 9 February 1821 in Copenhagen and is buried at Valsølille Cemetery.