About

So what is The Protection Zone™ all about?

First an introduction:  I’m Steve Riley, an attorney and founder of The Strategic Counsel law firm in Tampa, Fla.  For more than 20 years, I’ve focused my practice on helping families and small business owners protect what it took a lifetime to build.

Over time, I’ve co-authored books, written articles and spoken to thousands of people about estate planning, asset protection and business planning. I’ve also taught workshops to families and business owners on those topics and coached numerous attorneys on how to build a better practice.

I started this blog as one more way to share  my strategies and processes. Some of the entries will focus on helping business owners protect and grow wealth, some will address families about estate planning and some should be of interest to a broader range of readers. I hope you find the content useful and will benefit from the advice, tips and insights that my team and I  share with you.

There are several easy ways to follow this blog:

• Bookmark it and visit often.
• Click the SUBSCRIBE button on the top right of the page. That will get you up-to-date entries through the site’s RSS feed.
• Subscribe to The Protection Zone by email and receive entries in your inbox.
• Find out what’s on my mind and what I’m sharing by following me on Twitter at @stevenriley.

Contact me with your questions, comments and assessment of what you see here. In addition, let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you.

Professional Affiliations:

• Wealth Counsel
• Member of The Florida Bar
• Member of the Real Property, Trust and Probate Section of The Florida Bar
• Member of the Business Section of The Florida Bar
• Board of Visitors for Berry College
• Member, International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
• Former Member of University of South Florida, Professional Advisory Counsel of Estate and Financial Planners
• Former Faculty of the National Network of Estate Planning Attorneys
• Former Board Member of the Tampa Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors

Speaking Engagements:

• Wealth Counsel
• Marcus & Millichap
• Fidelity
• Charles Schwab
• New England Financial
• Edward Jones
• Osteopathic Society of Pinellas County
• Florida State Guardianship Association Annual Meeting
• Massachusetts Bar Association
• University of Tampa
• Berry College
• Tampa Association of Life Underwriters
• Tampa Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (TAIFA)
• State Farm Insurance Companies
• John Hancock Financial Services Company
• Morgan Stanley
• Mutual Service Corporation
• Mutual of Omaha
• West Coast Financial Group
• GunnAllen Financial
• The Florida Bar

Seminar Presentations:

• “Can You Trust Your Trust?”
• “Managing a Solo/Small Practice & Still Finding Time to Practice Law”
• “Planning to Protect Your Family in a World of Constant Change”
• “Asset Protection in Florida”
• “Asset Protection for Physicians”
• “The Most Common Mistakes Business Owners Make”
• “The Truth About Estate Planning”
• “Common Mistakes Business Owner’s Make in Estate Planning”
• “Legal Aspects of Buying or Selling a Business in Florida”
• “How to Buy a Business”
• “Business Succession Planning”
• “Estate Planning for Women in Business”