Martin Heller Potempa & Sheppard

What Martin Heller Potempa & Sheppard does

Martin Heller Potempa & Sheppard (MHPS Law) is a private professional limited liability company headquartered at 2122 21st Avenue South in Nashville, Tennessee. The firm was co-founded by Matt Potempa (who originated his solo practice in 2008) together with partners Sean Martin, David Heller, and Jennifer Sheppard, operating today with six partners and approximately 20-25 total staff including six attorneys, five paralegals, and administrative personnel. It serves individuals, families, and fiduciaries in Middle Tennessee across three integrated practice areas: Wealth Preservation (estate planning, wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, business succession, charitable planning, advance directives, blended-family and special-needs planning), Family Law (divorce, child custody and support, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, high-asset divorce, mediation, adoption), and Probate Administration and Litigation (will contests, trust disputes, breach of fiduciary duty, estate administration, conservatorships, and guardianships).

The firm operates a traditional professional services model with no proprietary technology product. Revenue is generated through hourly billing, flat fees for defined engagements, and contingency arrangements in litigation matters, with selective client acceptance as a stated quality control. Go-to-market is primarily referral-driven (estate planning advisors, insurance brokers, financial professionals) supplemented by a content-marketing presence via the firm's website, blog, and eBooks, with intake via phone ((615) 800-7096) and web contact forms. The firm differentiates on partner credentials — certified Rule 31 Family Law Mediators, former judicial clerks, a former Probate Master, an AV-rated tax planning partner (LL.M. Georgetown), and adjunct law faculty — and on sustained external recognition including Nashville Business Journal Best of the Bar and Thomson Reuters Super Lawyer designations, many held consecutively from 2016 through 2023.

The firm's strategic posture is one of measured boutique expansion: incremental attorney hiring across practice teams, a partner-track promotion (Wilks), deepening specialization in conservatorships (including Jennifer Sheppard's graduation from the inaugural National Guardianship Association Leadership class in 2025), and the 2025 addition of a bilingual, dual-state (Florida/Tennessee) licensed attorney plus a first dedicated Marketing Manager. Geographic footprint remains concentrated in Middle Tennessee (Nashville and Springfield), with no disclosed M&A, partnership, or funding activity and no AI/technology product layer.

Name

Martin Heller Potempa & Sheppard

Legal name

Martin Heller Potempa & Sheppard, PLLC

Website

https://mhpslaw.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

MHPS Law is a Nashville-based boutique law firm serving individuals and families across Middle Tennessee in estate planning, family law, and probate administration and litigation, led by six partners with judicial and mediation credentials.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services (Estate Planning, Family Law, and Probate)

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Family & Private Client (Trusts & Estates) Law (BPAHAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Estate & Probate Administration Services (FSAEAKAD), Trust & Estate Dispute Resolution & Fiduciary Litigation Support (FSAEAKAJ), Estate Administration & Probate Services (FSAAANAE)

Keywords

• Estate planning law
• Family law representation
• Probate administration
• Trust and estate litigation
• Wealth preservation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Legal Services Fees: Professional legal services billed through hourly rates, flat fees for specific services, or contingency arrangements depending on practice area. Revenue derived from estate planning, family law, probate administration, and litigation matters for individual clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

MHPS Law is a Nashville-based law firm providing legal services to individuals and families in Middle Tennessee across three practice areas: Wealth Preservation (estate planning, wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, business succession planning, advance directives, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, asset protection), Family Law (divorce, child custody and support, spousal support, division of property, adoption, mediation, high-asset divorce), and Probate Administration and Litigation (estate administration, will contests, trust disputes, conservatorships and guardianships). Services combine advisory/document preparation with courtroom litigation representation, delivered by partners, attorneys, and paralegals in person at the firm's Nashville office.

Product overview

Martin Heller Potempa & Sheppard (MHPS Law) is a Nashville-based law firm offering legal services across three interconnected practice areas: Wealth Preservation (estate planning, wills, trusts, business succession), Family Law (divorce, custody, adoption, prenuptial agreements), and Probate Administration and Litigation (will contests, trust disputes, conservatorships). The firm provides both advisory/planning services and courtroom litigation representation. The core offerings include document preparation (wills, trusts, advance directives), dispute resolution (divorce mediation, litigation), and fiduciary representation (estate administration, conservatorships).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wealth Preservation Services Comprehensive estate planning and family wealth preservation services for individuals, families, and business owners in Middle Tennessee, including wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, advance directives (living wills, durable power of attorney for healthcare), business succession planning, charitable planning, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, and asset protection strategies.
• Family Law Services Family law representation for individuals and families in Middle Tennessee, including divorce, child custody, child support, spousal support, division of property, adoption (including stepparent), annulments, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, legal separation, marital dissolution agreements, modification of parenting plans, child relocation, and divorce mediation for both routine and high-asset matters.
• Probate Administration and Litigation Probate and trust litigation and administration services for Tennessee clients, including probate estate administration, will contests, trust disputes, breach of fiduciary duty claims, conservatorships, guardianships, declaratory judgment actions, partition actions, undue influence claims, and claims against an estate.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz: Large regional law firm with a substantial Nashville office covering estate planning, family law, and probate litigation alongside a much broader corporate practice. Competes with MHPS in the same Middle Tennessee market but at significantly greater scale.
• Bass Berry & Sims: Largest Nashville-headquartered law firm with extensive private client, estate planning, and family law practices among many other corporate practice areas. Directly competes with MHPS for high-net-worth Nashville clients but operates at far greater scale across dozens of practice areas.
• Frost Brown Todd: Multi-state law firm with a significant Nashville office covering estate planning, probate, and family law. Larger and more geographically diverse than MHPS but competes for similar Tennessee private client work.
• Stites & Harbison PLLC: Regional law firm with a Nashville office providing estate planning, probate, and family law services. Competes with MHPS in the same Tennessee market but operates across multiple states with substantially greater resources.
• Miller Martin PLLC: Nashville-based firm offering estate planning, family law, and probate services alongside broader corporate practice. Competes with MHPS for individual clients but serves much larger institutional clients as well.
• Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis: Major Nashville-based full-service firm with significant estate planning, probate litigation, and family law capabilities. Competes with MHPS for Middle Tennessee high-net-worth and institutional estate planning work; much larger headcount and broader geographic footprint.

Direct peers

• Bone McAllester Norton PLLC: Nashville boutique firm of comparable size with overlapping practices in estate planning, family law, and probate. Most directly comparable peer to MHPS in terms of scale, geographic focus, and service mix for individual and family clients.
• Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison PLC: Nashville-based firm with established estate planning, probate, and trust litigation practices. Closely comparable boutique-style operation targeting similar high-net-worth individual clients in Middle Tennessee.
• Cornelius & Collins LLP: Smaller Nashville-area firm with estate planning and family law practices serving similar individual client base. Direct local competitor of comparable scale to MHPS in Middle Tennessee.
• Tune, Entrekin & White PC: Nashville-based boutique firm focused on estate planning, elder law, and probate administration. Closely comparable in size and niche specialization with MHPS, targeting individual clients in Middle Tennessee.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mhpslaw
• Facebookfacebook.com/mhpslaw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carbonbetter

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Martin Heller Potempa & Sheppard