Lead Experts
Prof. William H. Byrnes, Esq., LL.M., CWM, Fellow
William Byrnes is the leader of Summit Professional Networks Financial Advisory Publications, having been appointed
July 1, 2010. He has been an author and editor of ten books and treatises and seventeen chapters for Lexis-Nexis,
Wolters Kluwer, Thomson-Reuters, Oxford University Press, Edward Elgar, and Wilmington, as well as numerous
commissioned, peer-reviewed, and law review articles. He was a Senior Manager, then Associate Director of
international tax for Coopers and Lybrand, which subsequently amalgamated into PricewaterhouseCoopers,
practicing in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean.
He has been commissioned and consulted by a number of governments on their tax and fiscal policy from policy
formation to regime impact. He has served as an operational board member for companies in several industries including
fashion, durable medical equipment, office furniture, and technology. Since 1994, he has been a professional trainer
for professional association conferences, government workshops, and financial service institutions in-house meetings.
Before Associate Dean Byrnes joined the administration of Thomas Jefferson School of Law,
he was a tenured law
faculty member at St. Thomas School of Law. He serves on the Academic Committee of the American Academy of Financial
Management. He created the first online graduate program offered to wealth managers and life insurance producers
without any legal background—see http://llmprogram.tjsl.edu (Graduate Program of International Tax and Financial
Services, Thomas Jefferson School of Law).
Email: [email protected]
Robert Bloink, Esq., LL.M.
Robert Bloink worked to put in force in excess of $2B of death benefit for the insurance industry’s producers in the past
five years. His insurance practice incorporates sophisticated wealth transfer techniques, as well as
counseling institutions in the context of their insurance portfolios and other mortality based exposures. Robert
Bloink is a professor of tax for the Graduate Program of International Tax and Financial Services, Thomas Jefferson
School of Law.
Previously, Robert Bloink served as Senior Attorney in the IRS Office of Chief Counsel, Large and Mid-Sized
Business Division, where he litigated many cases in the U.S. Tax Court, served as Liaison Counsel for the Offshore
Compliance Technical Assistance Program, coordinated examination programs audit teams on the development of issues
for large corporate taxpayers, and taught continuing education seminars to Senior Revenue Agents involved in Large
Case Exams. In his governmental capacity, Mr. Bloink became recognized as an expert in the taxation of financial
structured products and was responsible for the IRS’ first FSA addressing variable forward contracts. Mr. Bloink’s
core competencies led to his involvement in prosecuting some of the biggest corporate tax shelters in the history or
our country.
Email: [email protected]
Alexis Long, J.D.
Alexis Long formerly practiced corporate law as an associate with the business transactions group at Schulte Roth
& Zabel in New York City. She was a corporate, securities and finance editor for the Practical Law Company before moving to
Thomas Jefferson School of Law as publications director. She holds a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law school.
Email: [email protected]
Panel of Experts
George Mentz, Esq., MBA, CWM®, QFP
George Mentz—a licensed attorney, holds a Juris Doctorate in civil law, a Graduate Diploma Cert. in international law, and an MBA in tax and financial services. He is the first person in the U.S. to earn quad recognition and professional designations as a licensed attorney, MBA, and holder of financial planner licenses and financial consulting qualifications. Prof. Mentz is licensed in state and federal courts—USA, LA, EDLA—and is a licensed notary public. Additionally, Mentz has passed exams and held licenses from FINRA/NASD, such as the Series 7, 63, and 65.
George Mentz was formerly in investment banking as a senior financial planner and wealth manager for an international Wall Street firm where he assisted in training over 5,000 employees and counseled the wealthiest clients. Dr. Mentz has taught over 170 graduate and undergraduate law and business courses and is the winner of several national faculty awards for excellence.
Prof. Mentz is the author of dozens of books and essays and has been featured or quoted in the Wall Street Journal, The Hindu National, El Norte Latin America, Forbes, Reuters, the Financial Times, The China Daily, and the Arab Times. Further, Mentz has authored and edited dozens of books and articles addressing law, tax, management, finance, investments, risk, estate planning, project management, and compliance, including Wealth Management – A Treatise and Guide for the Wealthy. Prof. Mentz's wealth management treatise and other books have been used to train over 10,000 professionals globally in banking, wealth management, risk, and project management.
Prof. Mentz is the founder of the AAFM® American Academy of Financial Management Board of Standards and was instrumental in creating the first recognized ABA graduate law course curriculum in wealth management, investment management, and private banking.
Prof. Mentz serves on the advisory boards of the AAFM ® American Academy International Board of Standards USA, The AABFS Arab Academy of Banking and Financial Sciences, The GBR Asia/China Financial Advisory Board, the India Institute for Financial Management, The Latin American Capitulo - Analistas/ Financiero, the ACCE African Economists Association, the International Assn. for Qualified Financial Planners, and has also served on the advisory boards of the Global Finance Forum in Switzerland and the World E-Commerce Forum in the UK, along with serving on the advisory boards of several charities, foundations, and schools.
Don Goode
Don Goode was with Potomac West, where he was instrumental in building their large case department. Along with his
partner, Don successfully designed and negotiated the Power Play program for American General, and most importantly to
Advanced Markets subscribers, his team lent support to the first agent in the history of the industry to ever receive more than
$100mm in a single calendar year. When he stepped down from partner status at Potomac West, Don accepted a one year
contract to lead the sales and marketing department for the esteemed Producer's Group. Thereafter Don Goodman joined the
Advanced Planning Division of the public company-BISYS-Potomac where he consistently produced individual policy
transactions that were more than twenty times the company average.
Mike Rodman
Mike Rodman is a three-time qualifier for Top of The Table, MDRT’s highest honor, as well as a four-year member of the
International Forum, and the Association of Advanced Underwriters (AALU). Rodman served as past president of NAIFA-San
Diego and is an active member of The Financial Planning Association (FPA), The Society of Financial Service Professionals
(SFSP), and The National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies (NAILBA). He founded Advanced Planning
Services, Inc. (APS) as “the Premier Advanced Sales and Advanced Underwriting organization” serving the entire industry,
including producers, producer groups, and other agencies and carriers, for which it has been a two-time INC 500 winner.
Robert Stuchiner, CLU
Robert Stuchiner worked for some of the largest insurance companies, most recently AIG, where he was Senior Vice
President in charge of market development and strategy for the AIG Affluent Markets Group. He has also worked for
consumers of insurance products ranging from large corporations (North American Phillips) to a major law firm (Davis,
Polk & Wardwell). Robert Stuchiner has published articles on life insurance products in Trusts & Estates magazine as
well as in CCH professional publications. He is a frequent speaker to insurance industry associations. Robert is the
winner of the National Career Achievement Award granted by the Lighthouse for the Blind.
