We’re Open!
Texas LGBTQ+ Attorneys
We have some exciting news for you: Hartman & McLaughlin, PLLC is now open! We’re an Austin-based, virtual law firm focusing on legal services for transgender and nonbinary Texans, as well as a variety of other services for the LGBTQ+ community.
Give a warm welcome to our attorneys, learn more about our journey to founding the firm, and, if you’d be interested in working with us or supporting our work, learn about our practice areas and the way we operate.
Meet Our Team
Wesley Hartman
Wesley Hartman (he/they) has built a legal career around serving gender expansive people and other vulnerable populations, especially at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities. Before co-founding Hartman & McLaughlin, PLLC, Wesley worked to address the health-harming legal needs of Texas’ LGBTQ+ community through Kind Medical-Legal Partnership—a program they established, and then sustained, after securing a post-graduate public interest fellowship.
Wesley’s focus as an attorney is name and gender marker change and identity regulation, although they possess a broad array of experience across a number of practice areas. In addition to the practice of law, Wesley is an experienced policy advocate, particularly when it comes to LGBTQ+ policy and health policy.
Wesley earned their JD from the University of Texas School of Law and is admitted to the Texas Bar. As a law student they served as a Pro Bono Scholar, helping to coordinate pro bono clinics that served people with disabilities, people with criminal history records, immigrants, and more.
Wesley is from the DFW area, giving them a deeply personal understanding of the LGBTQ+ experience in Texas. With a brief foray to Indiana to earn a music degree, Wesley felt called to return home and serve their Texas community using law. In their free time, they figure skate and are an avid vegan baker.
Noah McLaughlin
Noah McLaughlin (he/they) is a local Austin lawyer with a focus on helping LGBTQ+ families grow safely and securely. Before opening Hartman & McLaughlin PLLC, Noah was an Estate Planning attorney at Shearman & Sterling LLP in New York City, where he developed the legal skills necessary to help families protect and grow their wealth.
Noah’s first focus as an attorney is Estate and Health Care Planning Law. Noah understands that LGBTQ+ families have unique challenges and needs when it comes to planning for the future. If you become incapacitated, your biological parents and siblings have more power over you, your children, and your property than you might expect. Careful planning with a culturally sensitive lawyer is necessary to avoid unwanted intrusions into the life you have built for yourself.
Noah’s other passion, Child Protection Law, was born from his time with the Children’s Rights Clinic at the University of Texas. Noah has experience working with LGBTQ+ families in cases involving Child Protective Services, and cares deeply about keeping children together with their parents whenever possible. As a children’s advocate, Noah is focused on affirming the identities of LGBTQ+ children in foster care and helping to minimize the trauma of engagement with CPS. Noah is a member of the Travis County Court-Appointed Family Advocates, and is also available for private CPS cases in Central Texas.
Noah earned his JD from the University of Texas School of Law, where Wesley and Noah met, and is admitted to both the Texas and New York Bars. Noah was involved in many pro bono projects during his time at school, and has helped many transgender Texans change their names and gender markers through the Law School Gender Affirmation Project. Noah was also a student attorney ad litem through the Children’s Rights Clinic, and served as President of OUTLaw.
Noah is a native Austinite—he started transitioning during law school in 2017, and has been through the process of a name/gender marker change and hormone therapy using local Austin resources. After a 2-year stint in New York, Noah knew he had to return home and bring his skills to the people who mean the most to him: LGBTQ+ Texans. In his free time, Noah likes to swim, read, knit and crochet.
The Journey to Founding Our Firm
Wesley and Noah met as law students at the University of Texas School of Law. They served together on the board of OUTLaw, an organization devoted to uplifting and connecting LGBTQ+ law students. As leaders within the law school community, Wesley and Noah championed the LGBTQ+ community from the beginning: encouraging law students to volunteer on pro bono services for name and gender marker change, protesting against anti-trans rhetoric, and advocating for gender neutral restrooms.
Their careers diverged after law school, with Wesley securing a post-graduate fellowship to pursue non-profit legal work in Texas and Noah moving to New York to practice at a multinational law firm. However (like everyone else) the pandemic changed a lot for our team, with geographic relocations, realigning priorities, and a rediscovery of what matters most for their lives and careers.
Now reunited, Wesley and Noah seek to use their shared expertise to make Texas a better place for the LGBTQ+ community.
Our Practice Areas
Enough about us. What do we do at Hartman & McLaughlin, PLLC?
Through Hartman & McLaughlin, PLLC we hope to fill a gap we’ve noticed in our own lives, in Texas and elsewhere—a lack of professional services for transgender and nonbinary people by transgender and nonbinary people.
We hope to create a uniquely safe and affirming space to provide care to those who would otherwise feel excluded from a system that is unequipped or unwilling to recognize their full identity. Both our lived experience and professional experience has driven us to develop expertise on law and policy issues that affect LGBTQ+ people, especially in Texas. Read on to learn more about each of our practice areas, and why we’ve chosen them for their impact on the transgender, nonbinary, and wider LGBTQ+ communities.
Name and Gender Marker Change
As transgender and nonbinary people ourselves, we understand how important legally changing your name and gender marker can be.
We recognize that our community faces pervasive discrimination, and even violence, on a daily basis, and we have first-hand experience with many of these challenges. You’re forced to show IDs to access employment, housing, healthcare, education, financial institutions, and so much more. On top of the systemic barriers we already face, being forced to show an ID that doesn’t match who you are or how you present puts you at further risk of harassment or violence.
Legally changing your name and/or gender marker may be just one piece of your journey, but we know that affirming your identity this way can make a huge difference for your health and bring you greater safety and security.
We also understand how frightening and intimidating contact with the legal system can be. Whether you’re already committed to changing your name or gender marker, you’re not quite feeling ready yet but are planning ahead, or you’re simply unsure and have a lot of questions, we’re happy to walk you through this and discuss your options.
Wesley has a particular focus on name and gender marker change, having assisted minors and their families, immigrants, people with extensive criminal history records, and many others with unique circumstances. In practicing with diverse clients, Wesley has advised on an ever-growing list of identity documents including birth certificates throughout the US, occupational licenses, and many international documents.
We hope to assist with the full extent of your legal affirmation, but also understand that not everyone may be able to proceed with their name or gender marker change immediately, and some folks may not want or need name or gender marker change at all. Some people may not need legal changes to feel affirmed, while for others, your gender marker may not be available or you may be unable to obtain a static ID that accurately reflects who you are.
We will continue developing our expertise in this area, challenging unnecessary barriers, and advocating for more equitable and affirming identity law and policy. In the meantime, we hope our other services may help affirm those who don’t need or can’t make legal name or gender marker changes.
Estate Planning and Advance Care Planning
The same systemic issues that prevent recognition of our identities may also prevent recognition of our relationships and can force us back into unwanted interaction with biological family. This is especially true for the LGBTQ+ community, and particularly for transgender and nonbinary folks.
Wills & Trusts
If you don’t choose in advance the person or people you want to receive your property after you pass away, the law generally chooses a biological relative to inherit from you. The same is true for any minor children you leave behind—if you have no estate plan, the law steps in to identify a guardian from your biological family. Even if you’d be fine with the default person chosen by law, you can place the heavy burden of navigating the legal system entirely on your heir if you don’t put a plan in place ahead of time.
Medical Powers of Attorney and Advance Directives (Living Wills)
A similar set of rules govern emergency medical care and legal decision-making. If you experience a medical or psychiatric emergency and you’re unable to make or communicate your own decisions, someone else may have to make those decisions for you. If you don’t choose in advance who that person will be, again, the law will choose for you. Generally, in order of preference, your decision-maker would be your spouse, your own adult children, your parents, and then more distant relatives, medical professionals, or even clergy. Even if you’d be okay with the person the law chooses, they may not know details about your wishes for medical care and may be under too much emotional strain to engage in that kind of decision-making or fully advocate for your wishes, so it is always useful to plan ahead.
Declaration/Designation of Guardian in Advance
If you become permanently unable to take care of yourself or make your own decisions, then another person may be appointed your legal guardian—to provide care for your day-to-day needs and otherwise make your decisions for you. Similarly, relatives will be given preference to be appointed your guardian. Thankfully, with proper planning, , you can name your own choice in advance, and you can also name people you specifically want to disqualify from being your guardian.
Appointment for Disposition of Remains
Besides just your property or health care, planning ahead can include planning for how you’ll be remembered. Unlike California, which has a Respect After Death Act to ensure transgender people can have their gender identity recognized on their death certificate, Texas has no such protections. That means, if biological relatives who reject your identity end up in control of your estate and memorial by default, they could misrepresent you and erase your trans identity and full lived experience. Luckily, planning ahead means you can choose someone who respects you and your identity to manage your memorial affairs instead.
While most people are familiar with wills and estate planning, you may be less familiar with some of these other advance care planning options. Although it’s often done together with estate planning, advance care planning can be done separately. That way, even if you don’t feel like you have any assets or resources to be concerned about (and you really should have an attorney help you make that determination) you can still plan ahead!
We understand it can be hard to have conversations around difficult topics like death and disability, especially when it can reignite the traumas around family rejection, relationships, and other adverse experiences. As you feel able, we encourage you to participate in those conversations with us now, in a safe and affirming space, rather than waiting until it’s too late. Noah has a particular interest in thanatology and death companionship, and our compassion, personal experience, and legal knowledge make us the ideal choice to help walk you through these considerations.
Everyone may find estate planning and advance care planning helpful, but we understand it can be especially important for LGBTQ+ individuals—especially those who are unmarried and have experienced family rejection. We can discuss options based on your unique circumstances and help tailor a plan that fits your needs.
Criminal History Records
Having a criminal history record can impact how and when you’re eligible to change your name and gender marker. It can be difficult just to get started—tracking down the records and information you need and understanding what’s relevant. Wesley has ample experience locating and assessing criminal history records, including records from other states and jurisdictions outside of Texas.
In addition to the context of name and gender marker change, we understand the barriers criminal history records can create when it comes to employment, housing, and much more. If you meet eligibility requirements, we’re able to help with expunction and nondisclosure—to erase or seal criminal records, giving you a clean slate and fresh start.
Unfortunately, Texas has limited eligibility for expunging or sealing old criminal history records. While we’re happy to review records for just about anyone who is interested, it may be most beneficial for you if you know you have charges that were dismissed, or if you know you were placed on deferred adjudication.
While at first glance criminal history records may not seem to be a unique issue for LGBTQ+ individuals, as a matter of fact LGBTQ+ individuals are over-represented in the US criminal justice system and are therefore more likely to have criminal records. This is especially true for LGBTQ+ people of color. We consider expunction and nondisclosure, where available, an integral part of helping you affirm your identity and achieving greater equity for our community.
Although we can assist with these collateral consequences, we do not provide direct representation on criminal legal matters.
Child Welfare: CPS Cases
LGBTQ+ youth are disproportionately represented in foster care in the US, and Texas is no exception. LGBTQ+ youth entering foster care experience discrimination and abuse both inside and outside of the system, and face considerable adversity in reaching stable adulthood. We know it can make a world of difference to have a trusted attorney who can understand your experience and strongly advocate for your wishes. Noah prioritizes recognizing and affirming the identities of LGBTQ+ children in foster care, and helping to minimize the trauma of involvement in the foster system.
Along with children in care, Noah has experience working with, advocating for, and affirming LGBTQ+ parents in cases involving Child Protective Services. Since 2017, Texas law has included a provision allowing private child welfare service providers to refuse to serve LGBTQ+ parents and families. If you are an LGBTQ+ individual or couple looking to grow your family by providing a loving home for a child in foster care, you need an attorney who understands your rights.
Noah represents parents and children in CPS cases in and around Travis County, Texas, and is a member of the Court Appointed Family Advocates section of the Austin Bar. He is also an alum of the Children’s Rights Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law. Noah is active as a court-appointed CPS attorney, and is currently available for private representation in Travis County CPS cases.
Other Services
As a brand new (and small) firm we can’t do everything for everyone, but we hope we’re a start to more accessible legal services for LGBTQ+ Texans.
While the above practice areas are our focus, if you’re interested in working with us on other civil legal issues we’d be happy to discuss your needs and see whether we might be a good fit, so feel free to make an appointment for an initial consultation! We plan to expand to more practice areas in the near future.
How We Work
A Virtual Firm
Our firm is primarily virtual, which helps us achieve many of our goals.
We minimize our carbon footprint by cutting down on our commute times and the time clients would otherwise spend commuting to our office, which makes our practice more environmentally friendly.
We also hope it makes our services more accessible. Through technology, we can meet with clients safely and securely regardless of location. It also means we can work with folks statewide throughout Texas, or even folks living in other states or countries that have some connection to Texas, who otherwise wouldn’t be able to travel to meet with us. As long as you have a stable internet connection and email address, or a stable phone number and mailing address, we can work with you. Connecting over the phone or internet is also instantaneous, so you don’t have to worry as much about blocking time out of your schedule to meet with us.
And, a virtual office cuts down on expensive overhead costs and operating costs, like real estate or office leases—savings which we can pass onto you by charging lower rates to make our services more financially accessible.
Pay-It-Forward Billing Model
In further efforts to make our services financially accessible, we use what we call a pay-it-forward billing model. On our end, we pay it forward through flexible billing arrangements. We can agree to reduced rates or payment plans for those who need it, and that applies to our initial consultation fee as well. We use an honor system and don’t require proof of your financial situation, so don’t hesitate to make an appointment if you’re interested in working with us!
On your end, you can pay it forward by supporting our transgender and nonbinary-owned and operated business and honestly paying as much as you’re able. Help us keep our doors open so that we can continue serving other community members like you.
On top of our flexibility, we use flat rates as much as possible to simplify billing so that you know the total cost of our services up front, without unexpected fees. There may be other costs (like court fees or administrative fees) associated with your case that are outside of our control, but we’ll do our best to estimate and account for those from the beginning so that you can plan accordingly.
We believe that legal services should be available to everyone, especially when it comes to your identity. We hope you’ll choose us because it’s meaningful for you to support a transgender and nonbinary-owned and operated law firm that is serving gender expansive and other LGBTQ+ community. Outside of our firm we also donate our time to pro bono efforts, and we encourage you to seek out pro bono legal help if you do need it.
Getting Started
We’re so excited to share our journey with you, make connections, and discover what we’re able to accomplish together.
We hope you’ll tell your friends, family, and neighbors all about us. And of course, if you need our legal services, you can make an appointment!
oo,
Wesley x Noah