Meet Our Staff

James C. Mulder, JD.
Co-Founder and Co-Owner of the firm

He in one of only 9 attorneys in Texas who is certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in both Tax Law and Estate Planning and Probate Law.

He frequently lectures to the public on matters ranging from legally reducing income taxes to advanced wealth preservation strategies. He is a member the Houston Bar Association, the State Bar of Texas and the American Bar Association, Taxation section.

When James relaxes away from the law practice you'll find him taking pictures with the latest digital camera, watching the Astros in Minute Maid Park or on the golf course. He and his wife, Donna, live in The Woodlands with their three dogs, a Sheltie, Corgi and a Chow mix.

Robert M. Freedman, JD.
Co-Founder and Co-Owner of the firm

Robert M. Freedman received his undergraduate degree in Government from the University of Texas in 1974. He earned his Doctorate of Jurisprudence from the University of Houston, Bates College of Law in 1977.

Robert is authorized by the Supreme Court of the State of Texas to practice in all the courts in the State of Texas. He is also authorized to practice law before thee Federal Courts in the Southern District of Texas.

Robert has been appointed to serve on the State Bar of Texas Standing Committee on Paralegals

In 1990, he moved to Europe and worked as a researcher and lobbyist for Greenpeace International. He represented the organization before the European Union in Brussels and the United Nations Environmental Programme in Geneva.

He also studied at the University of Amsterdam and became fluent in Dutch.  He returned stateside in 1995. In addition to his responsibilities to the firm, Mr. Freedman serves on the advisory committee for the Center for Advance Legal Studies. He is also in charge of the research curriculum at the school.

Over the past several years, he has presented numerous continuing education workshops on Medicaid Planning to elder care professionals through out the Houston area. He is a member in good standing of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and an active contributor to the NAELA Texas Chapter as well.  He enjoys annual travel to Europe to visit his wife's family there.  He and his wife, Catherine, live in southwest Houston.

Martin R. Sabel
Financial Planner and Senior Paralegal

Martin R. Sabel is an expert in the financial issues of aging and is the firm's Senior Medicaid Eligibility Planner.

In 1994, he became an active advocate for seniors when his father experienced significant health problems. From 1994 through 1998, he served as the Regional Director of a state wide elder care financial planning agency.  He also co-managed a local firm dedicated to protecting the assets of seniors facing a nursing home crisis.

Martin receives frequent requests to teache elder care planning workshops for both health care professionals and the adult children of aging parents.  His audiences give Martin high marks for making otherwise complex subjects easy for the every day person to understand.

He's also an author. His first book takes caregivers by the hand and shows them step-by-step how to find a really good nursing home and get good care there. In addition to his in-depth, practical knowledge of the Medicaid process, familis like his ability to put them at ease with his quick smile and calm, up-beat approach to problem solving.

He's been licensed by the Texas Insurance Commission for over 20 years for annuities, life insurance and long term care.

His hobbies include crossword puzzles, organic vegetable gardening, cooking, writing and reading.  He lives in southwest Houston with his wife of 26 years, a son, an aging German Shepherd named "Maverick", and a self-centered cat named “Dude”.

Susan K. Kennedy
Director of Case Management

Susan has personally handled nearly 800 Medicaid planning cases and completed over 400 applications for Medicaid assistance. Her duties here include shepherding our client's information through the planning process and guiding all Medicaid applications to completion.

Susan cared for her grandmother prior to her death and recently placed her mom in a nursing home after 8 years of caretaking. This experience taught her what documents were important to keep, how to manage health care issues and how to organize information to present it to Medicaid when applying for benefits.

That knowledge sharpened her knack for detail and forged an amazing ability to assist clients with gathering the information they didn't even realize they had. Caseworkers for the State tell us her Medicaid application presentations are some of the best they have ever seen!

Susan has the ability to help clients move easily through the maze of Medicaid qualification during a time of great stress. Susan has one son, is an amateur astronomer and lives with her husband Andre near Reliant Stadium in Houston.

Sheila G. Hartline
Director of Client Services

Families are the most important people in the world to Sheila and she helps them feel that way. In her role as the firm's legal secretary, she sees responsible for managing the process of producing all those important legal documents our clients need.

After an extensive career in retail management, she decided to change her life and her career when she lost her husband to a severely disabling illness. 

In addition to being a certified hospice volunteer, she is an amateur ornithologist and birdwatcher as well as an avid backpacker. Sheila lives in Houston's Historic Sixth Ward. When she wants to get out of town she hops on her Honda Shadow 750 motorcyle.

Kathy Fulton
Client Care Supervisor

In our law firm, Kathy is the “sheriff” when it comes to keeping clients happy.It’s her job to help each staff member deliver the hallmark care, attention and professional service we provide each client.

She has extensive experience dealing with people and managing offices. Her experience includes the insurance, educational and financial planning industries. For 6 years she worked hand-in-hand with her husband managing a growing Houston financial services company. Kathy has first had care giving experience, too.

She helped manage her father’s care through his bout with Alzheimer’s. Now she and her sister share caregiving responsibilities for their 80 year old mother.

In her time away from the office she enjoys her family, gardening, interior decorating and caring for her numerous pets.