Stephen Bernhardt has been an attorney since he was 25 years old. Now, nearly a decade later, Bernhardt has extensive trial experience in both criminal and civil law. He began his legal career as a prosecutor, first handling misdemeanor offenses such as DUI, Battery, Possession of Controlled Substance, Violation of Injunction and many others. Bernhardt was quickly moved to a felony division and become the State Attorney’s Office’s representative for the county’s Drug Court Program. In this role, Bernhardt learned many techniques to help individuals overcome addictions as well as the differences between the many rehabilitation establishments throughout Florida. Prior to leaving the State Attorney’s Office, Bernhardt was the lead prosecutor in his division. Bernhardt conducted several jury trials that ended in convictions and sentences of more than thirty years, including a mandatory life in prison sentence. After leaving the State Attorney’s Office, Bernhardt began practicing civil law for one of the largest creditors’ rights firms in the United States. Bernhardt quickly became the lead litigating attorney for the firm’s Florida office and handled countless civil hearings and trials before leaving to start Bernhardt Law, PLLC. Bernhardt Law focuses on the practice areas of Criminal Defense, Personal Injury and Debt Defense. Using the knowledge gained throughout the years, Bernhardt Law is dedicated to making sure each client’s specific situation is handled with the utmost professionalism, attention to detail, and integrity.

Jerrold E. Slutzky, J.D., CFP® is a Florida-licensed Attorney at Law and owner of The Slutzky Law Firm, which focuses primarily on Estate Planning Services (wills, trusts, durable powers of attorney, health care surrogate designations, living wills, probate, etc.) and Small Business Legal Services (start-ups, buy-sell agreements, drafting of legal documents, contract negotiations, and general business law, counseling, and advice. Mr. Slutzky received a Bachelors of Science Degree in Finance from the University of Illinois (Champaign/Urbana), and a Juris Doctor Degree in Law from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois. In 1977, Jerry obtained his Illinois law license and opened his own law firm in Chicago, which focused on small business law and family financial matters such as estate, retirement, and tax planning, as well as many other areas of the law. In 1988, he and his family decided to move away from the Chicago winters to the Florida sunshine. He placed his Illinois law license on inactive status, and pursued a career in the financial services industry in Tampa for over 20 years, and in that capacity, he obtained his Series 7 (General Securities), Series 63 (Uniform State Exam), Series 65 (Investment Advisor Representative), and Florida insurance licenses (Life, Variable Life, and Health). In addition, in 1999, Jerry obtained his designation as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER(TM). Although he had previously retired from the practice of law in Illinois, he yearned to be able to use all of his knowledge and experience, both in legal as well as financial matters to better serve the needs of his clients. Inspired by his father, who practiced law until he was 96 years of age, Jerry decided to resume the practice of law in Florida in 2012. He limits his legal practice to matters pertaining to estate planning, small business law, and general legal counsel and advice. In addition, with the combination of over 40 years experience in the legal and investment arenas, he also serves as an arbitrator in adjudicating investor disputes before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the largest independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States. Jerry is also author of "My 'Everything' File," which is a 330 page workbook containing guides to help you provide your loved ones with everything they need to know about you, your assets, your debts, your medical history, your family history, and much more. It is available for purchase at www.MyEverythingFile.com as well as on Amazon.com. An online course and workbook version is available at www.MyEverythingFile.net/JSlutzky. When not in the office or out giving educational lectures, Jerry loves ballroom dancing with his wife, Helen, and is an active supporter of community theater in the Tampa Bay area, where he can often be found performing on stage in one Broadway musical or another. It has been said that “every lawyer is a frustrated actor,” and Jerry’s avocation lends credence to that statement. If you belong to an organization which would like Jerry to provide an interesting, entertaining, and extremely informative educational lecture, please call him or send him a note.

John K. Carter has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, which includes working for a law firm (Skadden Arps), a federal regulator (SEC), and leading companies (Franklin Templeton, Citigroup, and Transamerica). With this wealth of experience, John helps clients, big or small, to resolve their legal issues. John provides consulting to companies on a host of issues, including acquisitions, outsourcing, vendor selection, systems integration, governance issues, industry trends, and product development. John also serves as an independent director of a growing mutual fund complex. Previously, John served as Chairman, President, and CEO of a $50 billion asset management company consisting of approximately 120 funds and 35 investment sub-advisers. John served as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer prior to being promoted to the helm of the asset management company. John graduated with a B.S. in Commerce from the McIntire School of Commerce of the University of Virginia, where he concentrated in Finance. He received a law degree from the University Of Virginia School Of Law, where he was a member of the Managing Board of the Virginia Tax Review. He is currently a member of the Florida Bar, the District of Columbia Bar, and the Virginia State Bar. John currently is obtaining a Master of Theology from Saint Leo University, Dade City, Florida.