Stephanie Grana named to Virginia Business Power List again

Richmond trial lawyer Stephanie E. Grana has been named to Virginia Business magazine’s 2026-27 Virginia 500 Power List for the second time. The recognition highlights her legal career, public service and influence in Virginia’s law community.

Why it matters: - Stephanie E. Grana’s inclusion in the Virginia 500 places her among Virginia Business magazine’s 500 most influential leaders in the state. - The Law category is dominated by top legal leaders, so the listing signals professional standing beyond her trial practice. - The recognition also spotlights a lawyer whose work centers on individual injury and wrongful death cases rather than a large institution.

What happened: - Virginia Business named Grana, a partner at Cantor, Grana, Buckner, Bucci, P.C., to the Law category of the Virginia 500: The 2026-27 Power List. - The list was published Aug. 30, 2026. - This is Grana’s second time on the list; she was first named in 2022 while serving as president of the Virginia State Bar. - Grana was the 84th president of the Virginia State Bar, which regulates about 50,000 attorneys. - She was the first Hispanic lawyer and the seventh woman to lead the Virginia State Bar.

The details: - Virginia Business describes the Virginia 500 as an editorial feature, not an award or endorsement. - The magazine compiles the list over several months of staff research. - Virginia Business does not solicit nominations or accept applications. - The publication does not rank people on the list; honorees appear alphabetically within 20 sectors. - The methodology weighs career achievements, scope of responsibility, the size of the organization a leader oversees, and industry and community impact. - This year’s edition includes 100 women, or 20% of the list, and 85 new entrants. - The Law category is drawn largely from managing partners and chairs of major firms, law school deans, judges, and current or recent Virginia State Bar leaders. - About 36 of the 500 leaders named this year appear in the Law category. - Grana has practiced in Richmond since her admission to the Virginia bar in 1993, after a clerkship on the Court of Appeals of Virginia. - Her practice focuses on catastrophic injury and wrongful death matters, including medical malpractice, traumatic brain injury, birth injury and spinal cord injury cases. - Grana has more than 100 verdicts and settlements over $1 million in her career, with results varying by case. - She serves on the boards of Community Brain Injury Services and Commonwealth Community Trust, where she is a past chair. - Grana has captained the firm’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer team since 2003. - Her leadership roles include past president of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, the Virginia chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates, the Lewis F. Powell, Jr. American Inn of Court and the Metropolitan Richmond Women’s Bar Association. - She was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2025. - At the request of the Supreme Court of Virginia, she has served on the Virginia Model Jury Instruction Committee since 2015. - In 2019, the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys gave Grana its Civility and Professionalism Award. - Cantor, Grana, Buckner, Bucci, known as The Virginia Trial Firm, has represented injured people and their families since 1979. - The firm handles catastrophic injury, medical malpractice, traumatic brain and spinal cord injury, trucking and motor vehicle, premises liability and wrongful death matters in state and federal courts throughout Virginia. - The firm’s partners have recovered more than 200 verdicts and settlements exceeding $1 million. - The firm is located at 7130 Glen Forest Drive, Suite 400, Richmond, Virginia 23226. - More information is available at the firm’s website. - The release also lists the firm’s social media accounts on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and X.

Between the lines: - The Virginia 500 favors breadth of influence across sectors, so Grana’s inclusion suggests her legal work and public leadership have visibility beyond the courtroom. - The repeated recognition may reflect the mix of bar leadership, professional honors and community service that Virginia Business values in its methodology. - The focus on an individual trial lawyer also underscores that the Law category includes not just firm heads and judges, but attorneys with measurable impact in specialized practices.

What's next: - Grana is expected to continue her trial practice in Richmond while maintaining roles in legal, charitable and community organizations. - Cantor, Grana, Buckner, Bucci will continue handling injury and wrongful death cases across Virginia. - The Virginia 500 will likely remain a yearly marker for legal and civic influence in the state.

The bottom line: - Stephanie Grana’s second Virginia 500 listing reinforces her standing as one of Virginia’s most visible trial lawyers and legal leaders.