M. Scott Bucci
The lawyer who learned the other side’s playbook.
M. Scott Bucci is a partner at Cantor, Grana, Buckner, Bucci, P.C. — The Virginia Trial Firm — in Richmond. He concentrates his practice on premises and retailer liability and on serious motor vehicle cases, and he has tried a wide range of matters, including car and truck collisions, premises liability, products liability, and construction disputes. Other lawyers across Virginia regularly bring him in as co-counsel on their most complex retailer and premises cases.
Part of what makes Scott effective for injured clients is where he started. He began his career on the defense side of the courtroom, representing corporations and insurers — including more than seven years defending a national retailer in state and federal court and before the Fourth Circuit. That work gave him an inside understanding of how retailers and insurers evaluate, value, and defend claims. He now uses it on behalf of the people those companies once paid him to oppose.
Over more than 27 years, Scott has tried more than 125 civil cases to verdict in more than 25 jurisdictions across Virginia, securing numerous verdicts and settlements above $1 million. He is especially experienced in the Eastern District of Virginia — the “Rocket Docket” — and has argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the Supreme Court of Virginia.
Credentials
B.A., University of Virginia, 1995
Cases tried to verdict
Years trying cases
Virginia jurisdictions
Largest reported recovery
How Scott
builds a case.
A deliberate process shaped by years on the other side of the courtroom — built for the full value of your case, whether it settles or is tried.
01
Read it like the defense
Having defended retailers and insurers for years, Scott anticipates exactly how the other side will value and attack a claim — and builds the file to answer it.
02
Preserve what disappears
In premises and retailer cases, surveillance video, incident reports, and maintenance records vanish quickly. Scott moves fast to secure them before they are gone.
03
Prove the full harm
With medical and safety experts, Scott documents the true weight of a brain injury, spinal injury, or loss — the way a jury needs to understand it.
04
Try it when it counts
With 125+ verdicts in 25+ jurisdictions, Scott is ready for a courtroom anywhere in Virginia — the readiness that earns full value at the table.
$16M
Motorcycle Crash · Co-Counsel
Collision that killed a husband and seriously injured his wife.
$3M
Wrongful Death · Co-Counsel
Highway collision that killed a husband and wife.
$2,353,504
Brain Injury · Co-Counsel
Truck driver who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a fall from his trailer (workers’ compensation).
$2.35M
Medical Malpractice · Co-Counsel
Woman who died from oxygen deprivation during a hospital procedure.
$1.5M
Premises Wrongful Death · Co-Counsel
Hotel failed to timely summon emergency medical assistance.
$1.4625M
Brain Injury · Co-Counsel
Driver who suffered a severe brain injury when an improperly loaded pallet fell on him (workers’ compensation).
Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome; each case is decided on its own facts.
Standing in the legal community.
Honors & Awards
- Best Lawyers in America® — Personal Injury Litigation, Plaintiffs (2015–present); Product Liability (2026)
- Virginia Super Lawyers® (2013–present) · Rising Stars (2009–2012)
- Top 100 Virginia & Top 50 Richmond, Super Lawyers®
- AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated · Martindale-Hubbell®
- Legal Elite, Civil Litigation · Virginia Business magazine
Leadership & Service
American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
Past President, Virginia chapter (2019); National Board Representative for Virginia (2020–present); Foundation Civics Education Committee Co-Chair (2025–present).
Southeastern ABOTA (SEABOTA)
Past President (2024) and longtime Executive Committee member of the regional body of ABOTA chapters across the Southeast.
Litigation Counsel of America · VTLA · Powell Inn of Court
Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America (2025–present); member of the VTLA and the Lewis F. Powell, Jr. American Inn of Court.
Brain Injury Association of Virginia
Board Member (2016–2019); a continuing supporter of survivors of the injuries at the center of the firm’s catastrophic cases.
Rooted in Virginia, devoted to family.
Scott and his wife, Melissa, live in Midlothian with their four children — two sets of twins — and their English bulldogs, Butch and Sundance. In 2011, Scott donated a kidney to Melissa.
He has served on the board of the Brain Injury Association of Virginia since 2016. As an undergraduate at the University of Virginia, he was awarded the Malcolm H. Kerr Memorial Scholarship to study in Cairo, Egypt, and after law school clerked for the Virginia Beach Circuit Court.
Teaching the next generation of trial lawyers.
2025
Opening Statements — SEABOTA Trial Skills Seminar
2023, 2024
Civility Matters — University of Virginia School of Law
2023
Rules of Evidence in Virginia: Hearsay · Witness Examination — Virginia CLE
2019
After the Winning Verdict · Removal to Federal Court (VTLA) · Chair, VTLA Premises Retreat
1997
The Terrorism Exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act — Journal of International Legal Studies
What Scott’s clients say.
★★★★★
“I was treated like family. He constantly kept me updated on any changes with my case and made sure I had the most favorable outcome. Scott and his team really were the best.”
Julie F.
Former client
★★★★★
“I have never met an attorney with so much heart, compassion, and genuine empathy for his clients. Throughout the entire process he made me feel supported and heard.”
Chanibel S.
Former client
★★★★★
“The best! Scott Bucci and his team were exactly the law firm I needed. They worked endlessly to get the solution I hoped for and kept us in the loop about everything.”
Leigh B.
Former client
Frequently asked questions
Scott handles catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases in Virginia, with particular strength in premises and retailer liability and motor vehicle cases. He also handles products liability and construction disputes, and represents clients with traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries. Other lawyers frequently bring him in as co-counsel on complex retailer and premises matters.
Scott has been admitted to practice in Virginia since 1998 (Bar No. 42636) and appears before the Supreme Court of Virginia, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia. He practices from the firm’s Richmond, Virginia office.
He is known as a premises and retailer liability trial lawyer who began his career defending corporations and insurers and now uses that insight for injured clients. He has tried more than 125 civil cases to verdict in more than 25 jurisdictions across Virginia and is a past President of both the Virginia chapter of ABOTA and the Southeastern ABOTA.
Yes. Scott has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America since 2015 and selected to Virginia Super Lawyers since 2013, with Top 100 Virginia and Top 50 Richmond selections, and he is AV Preeminent peer-review rated by Martindale-Hubbell. These recognitions reflect peer assessment and do not guarantee a particular result.
CGBB Joins BIAV’s 2026 Charity Golf Classic in Midlothian
On October 12, our partners joined the Brain Injury Association of Virginia (BIAV) for its 22nd Annual Charity Golf Classic at Salisbury Country Club in Midlothian. The tournament brought people together around BIAV’s work with Virginians affected by brain injury. For our firm, it was also an opportunity to continue a relationship with BIAV that reaches back more than two decades.
Seventeen Years of Showing Up for the Mill House Pig Out
On October 9, Richmond came together for the 17th Annual Mill House Pig Out, the barbecue fundraiser benefiting Community Brain Injury Services (CBIS) and The Mill House. Cantor, Grana, Buckner,
Vision Problems After Brain Injury: New Research on Diagnosis, Rehabilitation, and Recovery
It’s been my clinical experience that the full spectrum of vision issues after brain injury is incredibly underdiagnosed, and our patients suffer because of it. Why? Because they often don’t
Stephanie Grana and Elliott Buckner Continue Their Service to the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association
Partners Stephanie E. Grana and Elliott M. Buckner of Cantor Grana Buckner Bucci recently participated in the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association‘s September 2026 Board of Governors meeting in Virginia Beach.
Stephanie Grana Named to 2026-27 Virginia 500 Power List
Virginia Business recognizes Cantor Grana Buckner Bucci partner among only 36 leaders in Law — marking her second appearance on the list RICHMOND, Va., Sept. 3, 2026 — Cantor Grana
Concussion Awareness Month, September 2026
September is Concussion Awareness Month, a time to recognize the serious and sometimes overlooked effects of concussions and mild traumatic brain injuries. A concussion may not leave a visible mark,
Talk to Scott directly.
Seriously injured in a fall, a crash, or on someone else’s property — or a lawyer who needs premises or retailer co-counsel? Reach Scott on his direct line.
(804) 888-9501
7130 Glen Forest Drive, Suite 400 · Richmond, VA 23226
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This profile is attorney advertising and general information — not legal advice — and does not create an attorney–client relationship. Case results depend on the unique facts of each matter, and prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome. Listings and awards reflect peer assessments for the year indicated and are not approved by the Supreme Court of Virginia or the Virginia State Bar. © 2026 Cantor, Grana, Buckner, Bucci, P.C. · 7130 Glen Forest Drive, Suite 400, Richmond, VA 23226 · (804) 644-1400