Irvin V. "Irv" Cantor

Founding Partner | Cantor, Grana, Buckner, Bucci, P.C. (The Virginia Trial Firm) | Richmond, Virginia

Reviewed by Irvin V. Cantor, Founding Partner. Last reviewed: June 18, 2026.

Irvin V. Cantor (Irv Cantor) is a founding partner of Cantor, Grana, Buckner, Bucci, P.C. (CGBB), The Virginia Trial Firm in Richmond, Virginia. Since 1979, Irv has represented people and families across Virginia who are facing serious injury and the loss of a loved one. He handles traumatic brain injury, car accident, spinal cord injury, and medical malpractice cases, and he has devoted the largest part of his practice to representing victims of traumatic brain injury. His goal in every case is the well-being of his client: securing the compensation injured people need to rebuild their lives while holding those responsible to account.

Practice Areas: Brain Injury, Car Accidents, Spinal Cord Injuries, Medical Malpractice

Direct Office Line: (804) 343-4368 Email Address: icantor@virginiatrialfirm.com

Virginia Bar No.: 17870

Over a career that began in 1979, Irv has recovered more than 50 verdicts and settlements larger than $1 million for injured people in Richmond and throughout Virginia and across the country. By the firm's accounting, his work has produced more than 2,000 favorable verdicts and settlements, including more than 450 traumatic brain injury cases. His reputation as a prepared and effective trial lawyer reflects the work he puts into every matter, particularly the catastrophic injury and brain injury cases that other lawyers consider the most difficult to try.

Representative results include:

• $15 million wrongful death verdict

• $4 million tractor-trailer crash settlement

• $2.125 million settlement obtained in 2025 with partner Joseph L. Cantor

As a member of the firm's trial teams, Irv has also helped secure results including a $2.4 million slip-and-fall wrongful death recovery and a $1.14 million insurance-coverage recovery following a wrongful death verdict.

Traumatic brain injury cases make up the largest part of Irv's practice, which he has built over more than four decades. He wrote the chapter on the medicolegal aspects of traumatic brain injury for Brain Injury Medicine (Demos Medical Publishing, 2006), a leading medical textbook on the subject. In 2015, Virginia and West Virginia Super Lawyers magazine featured Irv on its cover in a story about his brain injury practice, The Brain Behind Brain Injuries (ext).

The vast majority of Irv's cases come to him as referrals from other trial lawyers. Many professionals have asked Irv to represent them in their own injury cases, including attorneys, judges, claims adjusters, and physicians. He is a frequent lecturer to trial lawyers throughout Virginia and the country on traumatic brain injury, truck accident litigation, premises liability, liability insurance, and the elements of effective trial practice. He is the co-author, with Judge Samuel Johnston, of The Art and Science of Mastering the Jury Trial, published by the Virginia Trial Lawyers Foundation.

Irv is the founder and president of Jury Impressions, a jury consulting firm he established in 2005 that arranges mock trials and focus groups for trial lawyers across the country. He also serves as a mediator and arbitrator in a wide variety of catastrophic injury and wrongful death matters.

Irv is widely recognized by his peers. In 2018, he was inducted into the inaugural class of the Virginia Lawyers Hall of Fame. He has been named Richmond Personal Injury Litigation Plaintiffs' Lawyer of the Year by The Best Lawyers in America for 2014, 2016, and 2025, and Richmond Medical Malpractice Law Plaintiffs' Lawyer of the Year for 2020. He was named among the Top 10 Virginia Super Lawyers from 2012 to 2018 and has been selected to Virginia Super Lawyers since 2006. He is AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest available rating for legal ability and ethical standards.

Irv's standing in the profession has long made him a leader in the organizations that shape trial practice in Virginia. He is a past President of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (ext), the Brain Injury Association of Virginia, the Virginia chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ext), and the Virginia Trial Lawyers Foundation, and he served as chair of the Brain Injury Association of America (ext) national legal conference. He is a member of the American Association for Justice and its Brain Injury Litigation Group.

While Irv is devoted to the work he does for his clients, he is equally devoted to his community, and to tennis in particular. In 2025 he was inducted into the Richmond Tennis Hall of Fame, recognition of a lifelong commitment to the game that began when he served as a ball boy for Arthur Ashe at a Davis Cup match in Byrd Park. In 2024 he was elected to the board of the Black Tennis Hall of Fame, and he works with the Richmond Tennis Association and the City of Richmond to expand access to tennis for the city's young people. He remains active with the Brain Injury Association of Virginia (ext), which recognized him with its 2023 Anne McDonnell Legacy Award and its 2010 Weinstock Award.

Irv earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia in 1978 and his B.A. from the University of Virginia in 1975. Following law school, he served as a law clerk to the Supreme Court of Virginia.

He has been admitted to practice in Virginia since 1978 (Bar No. 17870) and before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

• Virginia Lawyers Hall of Fame, inaugural class (2018)

• Best Lawyers in America® Richmond Personal Injury Litigation Plaintiffs' Lawyer of the Year (2014, 2016, 2025)

• Best Lawyers in America® Richmond Medical Malpractice Law Plaintiffs' Lawyer of the Year (2020)

• Best Lawyers in America®, Personal Injury Litigation and Medical Malpractice Law Plaintiffs (2007 to present)

• Top 10 Virginia Super Lawyers® (2012 to 2018)

• Top 100 Virginia Super Lawyers® (2012 to 2021)

• Top 50 Virginia Super Lawyers® (2006, 2009, 2011)

• Top 50 Richmond Area Super Lawyers® (2013 to 2021)

• Top 25 Richmond Area Super Lawyers® (2011)

• Virginia Super Lawyers® (2006 to present)

• Cover feature, The Brain Behind Brain Injuries, Virginia and West Virginia Super Lawyers® magazine (2015)

• Anne McDonnell Legacy Award, Brain Injury Association of Virginia (2023)

• Weinstock Award, Brain Injury Association of Virginia (2010)

• Leaders in the Law, Virginia Lawyers Weekly (2010)

• Legal Elite, Civil Litigation, Virginia Business magazine

• AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®, the highest rating for legal ability and ethical standards

• American Lawyer Media and Martindale-Hubbell® Top Rated Lawyer (2012)

• Charter Senior Fellow and Order of the Centurion, Litigation Counsel of America

• Richmond Tennis Hall of Fame (2025)

Listings and awards reflect peer assessments of professional reputation, experience, and ethical standing for the year indicated. They are not certifications of specialization, are not approved by the Supreme Court of Virginia or the Virginia State Bar, and do not guarantee a particular result.

• Virginia Trial Lawyers Association: Past President (2002 to 2003); Board of Governors

• Brain Injury Association of Virginia: Past President (2004 to 2006)

• American Board of Trial Advocates, Virginia Chapter: Past President

• Virginia Trial Lawyers Foundation: Past President

• Brain Injury Association of America: National Legal Conference Chair (2008 to 2009)

• American Association for Justice (formerly Association of Trial Lawyers of America); Brain Injury Litigation Group

• Southern Trial Lawyers Association

• Litigation Counsel of America: Charter Senior Fellow, Order of the Centurion

• Founder and President, Jury Impressions

"If anyone needs a personal injury attorney I highly recommend the firm of Cantor Grana Buckner and Bucci. Irv Cantor, Joseph Cantor and Elliott Buckner are the most professional, caring individuals that fight for their client. They made the process easier and smoother than I ever thought that it would be. I had never been involved in an accident like this before but they removed the stress so that I could work on healing. They looked out for me every step of the way and always made sure I was getting the proper care that I needed for my injuries. You will not find a better group of people that treat you like family versus just a client. I cannot thank them enough for what they did for me. They are honestly the best group to have on your side."

— Caryn G.

"I will always recommend your services."

— Chris L.

These testimonials reflect individual clients' experiences. They are not a guarantee or prediction of the outcome of any other case.

• The Art and Science of Mastering the Jury Trial, co-authored with Judge Samuel Johnston, Virginia Trial Lawyers Foundation

• Medicolegal Aspects of Traumatic Brain Injury, chapter in Brain Injury Medicine, Demos Medical Publishing (2006)

• The Brain Behind Brain Injuries, Virginia and West Virginia Super Lawyers® magazine (2015)

• The Joy and Satisfaction of a Trial Lawyer Representing Persons Who Have Suffered Traumatic Brain Injuries, VTLA Journal, Vol. 19, No. 3 (2007)

• MedicoLegal Aspects of Severe Traumatic Brain Injury, VTLA Journal (Winter 2003 to 2004)

• Handling an Automobile Negligence Case in Virginia, Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 10, West Publishing (2000)

• How To Use a SPECT Scan in the Trial of a Traumatic Brain Injury Case, VTLA Journal (Summer 1998)

• Use of Demonstrative Evidence in the Trial of a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Case, VTLA Journal (Spring 1995)

• Insurance Coverage for Automobile Injury Cases, VTLA Journal, Vol. II, No. 4 (Fall 1990)

• Civil Conspiracy and the Hospital Staff Controversy, Legal Aspects of Medical Practice (1979)

Selected presentations:

• Art and Science of Proving Traumatic Brain Injury, VTLA Tort Law Seminar

• Voir Dire, Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys Conference

• Frequent lecturer to trial lawyers throughout Virginia and nationally on traumatic brain injury, truck accident litigation, premises liability, liability insurance, and trial practice

What types of cases does Irvin Cantor handle? Irvin Cantor handles catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases in Virginia, with a practice centered on traumatic brain injury. He also represents clients in car accident, spinal cord injury, and medical malpractice matters. Much of his work comes from other lawyers who refer their most serious and complex injury cases to him.

Where is Irvin Cantor licensed to practice? Irvin Cantor has been admitted to practice in Virginia since 1978 (Bar No. 17870) and appears before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He practices from the firm's Richmond, Virginia office.

What is Irvin Cantor known for? Irvin Cantor is known as one of Virginia's leading trial lawyers for traumatic brain injury cases and as a member of the inaugural class of the Virginia Lawyers Hall of Fame. He wrote the chapter on the medicolegal aspects of brain injury for a leading medical textbook and co-authored a book on jury trials for the Virginia Trial Lawyers Foundation. Other lawyers, and many professionals in the field, regularly entrust their own cases to him.

Has Irvin Cantor been recognized by his peers? Yes. Irvin Cantor was inducted into the inaugural Virginia Lawyers Hall of Fame in 2018, has been named a Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year in Richmond for both personal injury and medical malpractice, and was selected among the Top 10 Virginia Super Lawyers from 2012 to 2018. He is AV Preeminent peer-review rated by Martindale-Hubbell. These recognitions reflect peer assessment and do not guarantee a particular result.

This profile is attorney advertising and is provided for general information. It is 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 in any future case. 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.