Legacy Tax Advisors

Advanced tax strategy for high-income professionals, entrepreneurs, and families.

At Valiant, we protect and grow wealth for high-income earners, entrepreneurs, and families with $1M or more in annual income, or $3M or more in net worth.

ChicagoPalm BeachLos Angeles
Nationally Recognized

Nationally recognized tax law and wealth strategy experts.

Valiant brings together elite tax attorneys, corporate lawyers, and the resources of two nationally recognized firms: Centarus Legal Services, a corporate and securities law firm, and Exemplar Companies, a business, legal, and tax strategy firm. Together, we provide sophisticated tax planning, tax controversy representation, business structuring, and family office strategies for high-net-worth individuals, entrepreneurs, and closely held businesses.

Through our relationship with Centarus and Exemplar, our clients gain access to an integrated team of legal, tax, and business professionals. This multidisciplinary approach allows us to deliver coordinated strategies that reduce taxes, protect wealth, manage risk, and support long-term financial and legacy objectives.

Centarus Legal Services, PC

Corporate and securities law firm
Securities
Capital Structuring
Regulatory Defense

Exemplar Companies, PBC

Business, legal, and tax strategy firm
Tax Strategy
Advisory
Structuring

The Valiant Standard

Family-office sophistication with boutique focus, for clients at the $1M+ level
Client Tiers

Precisely the level of service your wealth requires.

Our tiered approach aligns the right legal, tax, and wealth strategies with your level of financial complexity, ensuring you receive the services that best fit your needs today, and as your wealth grows.

Tier 01

Developing Wealth

High-income earners with growing complexity. Surgeons, law partners, and small businesses that are scaling.

$300K income
OR $1M net worth, excluding home
Valiant Offering
General Counsel CFO Services Tax Defense Tax Strategy
Tier 02

Affluent Families

Multi-entity entrepreneurs, executives with equity compensation, and active investors.

$1M to $5M income
OR $5M to $15M net worth
Valiant Offering
General Counsel CFO Services Tax Defense Tax Strategy Asset Protection Generational Wealth Transfer Strategies
Tier 03

Legacy Builders

Established business owners and families with generational wealth planning needs.

$5M+ annual income
OR $15M to $50M net worth
Valiant Offering
General Counsel CFO Services Tax Defense Tax Strategy Asset Protection Generational Wealth Transfer Strategies
What We Do

Audit-defensible planning with measurable outcomes.

Engagements are bespoke. Select any of the eight services below to read its full scope.

01

Tax Strategy

Proactive, high-value planning to minimize taxes and maximize wealth.

Most advisors focus on tax compliance. We focus on tax advantage. Our Tax Strategy services go far beyond year-end deductions, creating integrated structures that reduce liabilities now and for decades to come.

We design and implement strategies involving multi-entity planning, estate tax minimization, deferred compensation, charitable structures, and international holdings. For entrepreneurs, that means aligning corporate entities, trusts, and personal wealth into a seamless framework. For families, it means preserving generational wealth without sacrificing flexibility or control.

Our differentiator is perspective. We think like both tax attorneys and wealth architects, building strategies that compound savings year after year. This is not about paying less tax once. It is about building a wealth machine that endures.

The Valiant Advantage
  • Integrated expertise. Through our affiliation with Centarus and Exemplar, we bring solutions most boutique tax firms cannot match.
  • Custom roadmaps. Every client receives a strategy tailored to their unique income streams, businesses, and family goals.
  • Wealth preservation. We design plans not just for compliance, but for maximizing long-term wealth transfer and growth.
02

Tax Controversy & Defense

Trusted IRS defense and dispute resolution.

When the IRS or state taxing authorities come calling, the stakes are high. Our Tax Controversy team combines decades of legal and tax experience to represent high-net-worth individuals, entrepreneurs, and businesses in audits, appeals, and disputes with confidence and precision.

We represent clients in examinations, appeals, and negotiations involving complex tax matters, including multi-entity structures, international holdings, and sophisticated estate planning. Our objective is simple: resolve today's issue while protecting tomorrow's opportunities.

We view tax controversy as part of a broader wealth strategy. By combining experienced representation with proactive planning, we help clients resolve current disputes while reducing the likelihood of future ones.

The Valiant Advantage
  • Credibility. As practicing tax and corporate attorneys, we bring legal authority and strategic insight to every matter.
  • Backed by bigger firms. Through Centarus and Exemplar, our clients benefit from the resources of nationally recognized firms while receiving personalized attention.
  • Full-spectrum protection. From audit preparation through appeals and litigation, we stand with our clients every step of the way.
03

Asset Protection

Structures that ensure your wealth endures, regardless of external threats.

Affluence brings opportunity, but also exposure. One lawsuit, creditor claim, or unforeseen liability can undermine what has taken decades to build. Our Asset Protection services are designed to ensure your wealth endures, regardless of external threats.

We employ proven legal and structural strategies, from layered LLCs to domestic and offshore trusts, customized to your risk profile and jurisdiction. Our goal is to create barriers that discourage litigation, strengthen negotiating leverage, and preserve privacy.

Unlike mass-market asset protection packages, our strategies integrate with your tax planning, estate planning, and business operations. True protection is not just about shielding assets. It is about ensuring your structures support both security and growth.

04

Legacy Planning

Transferring not just assets, but values, harmony, and purpose.

Transferring wealth is easy. Transferring values, harmony, and purpose is far more difficult. Our Legacy Planning services go beyond estate tax minimization to ensure that your wealth becomes a foundation, not a fault line, for future generations.

We create multi-generational structures such as dynasty trusts, governance systems, and family constitutions that preserve both financial assets and family vision. Our work often includes educating heirs, designing philanthropic strategies, and structuring succession plans that reduce conflict.

The difference? We see legacy as more than legal documents. We help families articulate their vision, embed their values, and pass forward not just assets, but wisdom.

05

Multi-Family Office Services

Family office sophistication without the $50M threshold.

For affluent families, managing wealth requires more than great advisors. It requires coordination. Our Multi-Family Office Services integrate tax, legal, investment, and estate planning into one comprehensive strategy, eliminating the fragmented advice that often comes from working with multiple independent professionals.

We deliver the sophistication of a private family office without the cost and complexity typically associated with one. We coordinate with your trusted advisors, oversee the implementation of key strategies, and help ensure every decision supports your family's long-term financial and legacy objectives.

Our role is to simplify complexity, provide strategic oversight, and help preserve wealth across generations.

The Valiant Advantage
  • Comprehensive integration. Tax, legal, investment, and legacy planning coordinated under one roof.
  • Powered by affiliates. Through Centarus and Exemplar, clients gain access to resources typically found only in much larger family office organizations.
  • Legacy and impact. We help families preserve wealth while supporting charitable giving, next-generation planning, and family governance.
06

General Counsel Services

Experienced attorneys who function as part of your leadership team.

Most business owners and affluent families eventually reach a stage where legal questions are no longer occasional. They are constant. Hiring a full-time General Counsel is costly and often unnecessary, yet relying only on outside counsel means you are always paying by the hour for advice that lacks context. Our General Counsel Services bridge this gap by giving you access to experienced attorneys who function as part of your leadership team, on call, deeply familiar with your structures, and invested in your outcomes.

We go beyond reviewing contracts and putting out fires. Our role is proactive risk management: structuring deals to reduce tax and liability exposure, protecting intellectual property, and anticipating regulatory issues before they disrupt operations. For families, that also means integrating legal strategies across trusts, family offices, and operating companies so that business, personal, and generational planning work together instead of in silos.

Where most firms react, we embed. That is the difference. We do not just solve problems. We align legal strategy with your growth trajectory, ensuring every decision protects today while building tomorrow.

07

CFO Services

Fortune 500 financial oversight without the full-time hire.

Behind every thriving enterprise is a disciplined financial strategy. Yet many successful entrepreneurs and families outgrow their bookkeepers and CPAs long before they are ready to bring on a full-time CFO. Our CFO Services provide the sophisticated financial oversight of a Fortune 500 executive, without the overhead of a permanent hire.

We manage far more than cash flow and budgets. We design capital allocation strategies, debt structures, and investment frameworks that align with your long-term goals. Whether it is preparing for liquidity events, modeling acquisitions, or building consolidated financial reporting across multiple entities, we provide clarity where others offer only spreadsheets.

What sets us apart is our ability to think like both owners and investors. We help you see around corners, anticipate capital needs, and make confident financial decisions that compound wealth across generations.

08

Business Valuation

Valuation as a negotiation tool, not just a number on paper.

Valuation is not a formula. It is a negotiation tool. Whether for succession planning, shareholder buyouts, estate transfers, or litigation, our Business Valuation services provide the rigor, objectivity, and credibility needed to stand up to scrutiny.

We combine forensic-level analysis with market insight, producing valuations that are not just numbers on paper but actionable intelligence. We consider not only EBITDA multiples and discounted cash flows, but also governance, industry dynamics, and risk-adjusted growth potential. That is why our valuations hold up in court, in negotiations, and in front of regulators.

What differentiates us is our alignment with your larger strategy. We do not just deliver a valuation report. We help you understand how that number affects financing, succession, or exit planning. In other words, we do not stop at value. We show you how to unlock it.

Why Valiant

The sophistication of a family office. The focus of a boutique.

01

Authority with Scale

Backed by Centarus and Exemplar, we bring multidisciplinary expertise to every engagement.

02

Exclusivity with Accessibility

We serve clients at the $1M+ level, sophisticated enough for elite planning, accessible enough to build real relationships.

03

Protection and Growth

We do not just create strategies. We defend them, protect families against IRS disputes, and integrate long-term wealth goals.

Our People

Elite tax lawyers and corporate advisors, in-house.

Decades of combined experience across securities, tax, and business strategy, kept under one roof rather than outsourced.

Founders

Louis Amatucci, Esq.

Corporate & Strategies Counsel, Partner

Co-Managing Partner of Valiant and Managing Partner of sister companies Centarus Legal Services, PC, Centarus Business Consultants, Ltd, and CBC Due Diligence Services. A corporate, securities, and regulatory defense attorney with more than 20 years of legal practice and over 15 years of prior management and executive experience at national and multinational corporations. He has represented clients before the SEC, the Illinois Securities Department, and the CFTC, and has litigated in federal and state courts. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and three advanced degrees, including a Juris Doctor, with honors from Dartmouth College, NYU Polytechnic Institute, and the University of Illinois School of Law. Admitted to the Illinois and New York Bars.

Christopher Marston

Corporate & Strategies Counsel, Partner

Co-Managing Partner of Valiant and CEO of sister company Exemplar Companies, PBC, a professional services firm integrating legal, tax, accounting, and business advisory. A corporate and securities attorney with more than 20 years of experience, he built Exemplar into the first national firm to eliminate the billable hour in favor of a values-based, relationship-driven model. His focus includes business structuring, tax strategy, capital raising, and risk management. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Boston College and a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School, where he served on the Moot Court Honor Board. Admitted to practice in Massachusetts.

Executive Team

David Merrick, Esq.

Tax & Strategies Counsel

Of counsel with Centarus Legal Services and a practicing attorney for over three decades, advising multinational corporations, private equity firms, high-net-worth individuals, and financial institutions on complex U.S. and cross-border tax matters. A former Tax Managing Director at PwC and KPMG in U.S. and UK offices, Senior Tax Attorney at IBM, and former Attorney/Advisor with the IRS. Recognized for developing innovative tax strategies, drafting technical tax opinions, and guiding clients through significant regulatory change. Active member of the DC Bar, with a J.D. from George Washington University (with honors) and Phi Beta Kappa distinction.

Ryan Milam

VP, Tax Products

Vice President of Tax Products at Valiant, where he helps clients implement advanced tax strategies to protect wealth, minimize risk, and optimize outcomes. With more than 15 years of experience in consultative client strategy, Ryan specializes in aligning complex tax solutions with client goals through a relationship-driven approach. He previously led the Tax Strategy Division at a boutique tax law firm, closing multiple seven-figure engagements. A Certified Tax Strategist and former "30 Under 30" nominee, Ryan has spoken at more than thirty national events and previously worked at Apple, Inc.

Get Started

Schedule a confidential strategy session.

Your first step toward protection and lasting wealth optimization. With Valiant, you gain the sophistication of a family office, the strength of affiliated national firms, and the personal focus of a boutique.

Chicago  •  Palm Beach  •  Los Angeles

Bridging sophistication and accessibility in tax and wealth services.

Strategic tax planning, IRS defense, and family office solutions for $1M+ earners. Expert guidance. Transparent advice. Long-term protection, without the noise.

Confidential. We typically respond within one business day.