Meet Our Staff
Meet Our Staff
Lori Tracoma
Lori Tracoma - Paralegal
Katie Obermiller
Katie Obermiller - Paralegal
Katie joined the Cantor Grana Buckner Bucci team in 2018 and is paralegal to Stephanie Grana. Katie’s 17 years of paralegal experience and knowledge of the industry are part of what makes her an invaluable asset to our team.
Before coming on board the CGBB team, Katie graduated from William and Mary with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, majoring in History, and immediately went on to work at the law firm of Covington and Burling in Washington, D.C. as a client service specialist.
After living in San Diego, California for three years, Katie moved back to her hometown of Alexandria, VA in 2005 to pursue a one-year teaching opportunity with an arts-based cooperative preschool, which was inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education.
While not working at CGBB, Katie also works part-time at Revival Consignment, a high-end consignment furniture store. She enjoys spending time working out, watching her favorite TV shows, and playing with her two dogs Dixie and Bono.
Janie Devers
Janie Devers - Paralegal
Janie is a skilled paralegal, with many years of experience in complex litigation cases involving catastrophic injury, wrongful death, and medical malpractice. Janie has a degree in paralegal studies–litigation, graduating summa cum laude.
In addition to her role as paralegal to Irvin Cantor, Janie is also the Director of Operations for Jury Impressions, a focus group and jury consulting company. She also volunteers her time working for the Alzheimer’s Association.
Janie enjoys playing tennis, photography, traveling, and spending time with her three children and six grandchildren.
Audrey Anderson
Audrey Anderson - Paralegal
Michael G. Phelan
Michael G. Phelan - Paralegal
Michael G. Phelan joined the CGBB team in April of 2023 as paralegal to M. Scott Bucci. Although he was born in Worcester, MA, he has lived in Richmond since he was 2 years old. Michael graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University, majoring in Politics and Government with a minor in History.
After college, he briefly started his own courier/process service business and then moved to New York to work at Weitz and Luxenberg, a huge law firm in lower Manhattan (like taking-up-a-whole-12-story-building-huge). After two years in NY, he was ready to move back to Richmond where he worked at his father’s firm Phelan Krudys Petty, now Phelan Petty.
In 2018, he changed things up a bit and worked on Abigail Spanberger’s Congressional Campaign as a communications staffer. After her successful campaign, Michael went on to work at For Our Future as a community organizer, however, due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 he was forced out of community organizing and went back to work at Phelan Petty.
Currently, Michael lives in the Fan neighborhood in Richmond with his girlfriend and their dog, Phoebe, a rescued Akita. Michael describes himself as a “secret nerd.” He enjoys playing video games, board games, tabletop games, comic books, painting models, and he would consider himself a movie buff.
Lori News
Lori News - Marketing Director
Lori News joined the Cantor Grana Buckner Bucci team in February 2023 as the Marketing Director. Before joining CGBB, Lori spent almost eight years in marketing building the brand of a Richmond franchise, a passion she has carried over into her role here.
She graduated from James Madison University (Go Dukes!) with a degree in Media Arts and Design with a concentration in Journalism and also minored in Photography - a skill that is utilized primarily on her dog, Weasley (like Ron), and her cat, Poptart (like the breakfast).
Lori enjoys spending time with her friends and family, checking out the local Richmond restaurant and brewery scenes, playing board games, and spending time at the beach playing volleyball and Spikeball.
Laura Perez
Laura Perez - Office Manager/Receptionist
Laura Pérez, our Receptionist and go-to for all things CGBB, came on board in August 2020. Originally from Venezuela, her ability to speak fluent Spanish and some Portuguese coincides with her dream of traveling to as many Latin American countries as possible. So far, Laura has been to five Latin American countries, with Brazil and Costa Rica next on her bucket list.
Graduating from the University of Richmond in 2020 with a degree in Political Science and Latin American Studies, Laura carries a unique set of skills that makes her a special member of our team, especially with our Spanish-speaking clientele. Her ability to translate attorney-client communications and explain important documents makes her a perfect advocate for these clients.
In her spare time, you might find Laura enjoying a picnic at Libby Hill Park, one of her favorite things to do in Richmond. She also enjoys traveling, listening to podcasts, and cooking Venezuelan dishes.
Nancy Rager
Nancy Rager - Firm Administrator & Special Projects Coordinator
Nancy’s career in the law profession began almost 50 years ago working in the accounting department at McGuireWoods. From there, Nancy and her husband moved out of state pursuing other opportunities, only to return to Richmond to work for Browder Russell in the accounting department.
In 1992 some of the attorneys from Browder Russell merged with Cantor Arkema & Edmonds, later becoming Cantor Grana Buckner Bucci, P. C., where Nancy worked in the billing department. Later she moved into the role of Finance Director and then became the Firm Administrator.
In 2018, Nancy was nominated by her peers and was selected by Virginia Lawyers Weekly Unsung Legal Heroes for her role as Firm Administrator.
In her spare time, Nancy loves to travel and spend time with her family, especially her two great-grandsons. She also enjoys cooking and entertaining her friends and family.
Anne McDonnell
Anne McDonnell - Director of Brain Injury Services
Anne is our new Director of Brain Injury Services. She has specialized in the field of brain injury for more than 35 years and is joining our firm to help provide the best service to our clients.
She has a BS in Occupational Therapy from the Medical College of Virginia, a Post-Graduate Certificate in Health Care Management from Old Dominion University, and a Masters of Public Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).
Anne has over 35 years of experience in brain injury rehabilitation and advocacy across a continuum of hospital and community-based settings. From 1986 to 2001, she worked at Sheltering Arms Hospital working with brain injury patients across sub-acute, inpatient, and outpatient rehab settings. When she left Sheltering Arms, she went to work at the Brain Injury Association of Virginia; from 2006-2023, she was the Executive Director.
Anne is a Certified Brain Injury Specialist Trainer, holds a clinical faculty position in the School of Occupational Therapy at VCU, has served on the Virginia Brain Injury Council and the Board of the Brain Injury Association of America, and is Chair of the VCU TBI Model Systems Advisory Board. She has worked as a consultant to state agencies and private providers and is a nationally recognized leader in the field.
In 2011, Anne was named one of the “Influential Women of Virginia” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly. In 2014, she received the State Association Leadership Award from the Brain Injury Association of America. In 2015, she was chosen to serve with 50 of the nation’s top brain injury researchers and clinicians on the Icahn School of Medicine project to develop Guidelines for the Rehabilitation of Adults with Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury. And in 2020, Anne was presented with the William A.B. Ditto Excellence in Public Policy from the National Association of State Head Injury Administrators.
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