Ms. Merilyn M. Steele began practicing accounting in 1982 in the tax department with Kenneth Leventhal & Co. which specialized in real estate (a Big 8 Accounting firm) which has since merged with Ernst & Young, LLP (a Big 4 Accounting firm). There she obtained her Certified Public Accountant professional license in 1984(currently inactive). After 10 years of practicing in the accounting field(8 years as a licensee), Ms. Steele returned to law school in 1992. While interning at a regional law firm in Newport Beach, California with their business and estate planning department, she received her law degree, license to practice law and transitioned to the practice of law in 1996. During the last 26 years of practicing law, Ms. Steele has gained extensive experience in the areas of estate planning, trust administration, corporate, tax, real estate, gift and business succession planning. This includes both domestic and some international tax/legal planning.

Originally from Indiana, Ms. Steele is almost a California native having received her Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration (emphasis in Accounting) in 1982 from Cal State University Fullerton.  She obtained her CPA license 2 years later in 1984. In May of 1996 she received her Juris Doctorate Degree, Cum Laude, from Trinity Law School, Santa Ana, California (formerly Simon Greenleaf University- named for Harvard Law Professor, an expert in Evidence). During law school, Ms. Steele was voted as Law Student of the Year and was a semi-finalist in the California Moot Court Competition.  She was admitted to the State Bar of California in December of 1996.

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