About The Firm - Our Paralegals
Matthew G. Curtis
Mr. Curtis received a B.A. from George Mason University in 2007. As a student, he was a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Undergraduate English Society. He was a member of George Mason University’s Men’s Volleyball Team, and has coached teams at the High School Level. He began work as a paralegal with Rawls & McNelis in the summer of 2007. He plans to attend law school in the future.
Ms. Curtis can be reached through our toll-free number, 1-877-VET4VET (838-4838).
Elizabeth Coleman
Elizabeth Coleman began her legal career in 1988 as a paralegal with Walter Emroch assisting with personal injury cases, specializing in medical malpractice and products liability cases. She worked at Crews & Hancock for 11 years as a litigation paralegal on medical malpractice, workers’ compensation and legal malpractice cases. She has also worked as a litigation paralegal at Coates & Davenport and McSweeney, Crump, Childress & Gould.
Ms. Coleman joined Rawls & McNelis in 2007. She has extensive litigation experience and has been exposed to a wide variety of medical issues and has become familiar with various areas of medicine. This medical knowledge has allowed her to work closely with the attorneys to obtain excellent results for their clients from a variety of medical specialties.
Ms. Coleman can be reached through our toll-free number, 1-877-VET4VET (838-4838).
Elizabeth S. Caldwell
Ms. Caldwell graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. with highest distinction in May 2007. At the University of Virginia, she was an Echols Scholar, received Intermediate Honors, and was awarded the T. Braxton Woody Award and the William Demoville Pettway Prize. She also completed an undergraduate thesis for the French Department’s Distinguished Majors Program. She completed part of her education at the Université Lumière Lyon II and L’Institut d’Etudes Politiques (IEP) in Lyon, France, for which she received a grant from the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation. Ms. Caldwell has experience as a tutor in academic writing and standardized testing. She has also worked for the University of Virginia, the Heritage Repertory Theatre, and as an intern for the Diocese of Virginia’s Young Priest Initiative at the American Cathedral in Paris in 2006. She began working at Rawls and McNelis in August 2007.
Ms. Caldwell can be reached through our toll-free number, 1-877-VET4VET (838-4838).
Carlyn R. Mikalson
Ms. Mikalson has worked with Mr. Rawls for ten years, beginning with his tenure at Rilee, Cantor & Russell in 1991. Since that time, Ms. Mikalson has worked almost exclusively in the area of medical malpractice defense. She has completed several continuing education courses which focus on the review of medical records and preparation for litigation. Prior to her career as a paralegal, Ms. Mikalson was employed for five years as an administrative aide with a non-profit lobbying concern in Wisconsin.
Ms. Mikalson can be reached through our toll-free number, 1-877-VET4VET (838-4838).
Mary-Louise Trache, RN
Ms. Trache earned a B.A. in philosophy from George Washington University. She was an administrative assistant for Catholic University and for Harvard University. Subsequently she matriculated from Newton-Wellesley Hospital School of Nursing in Massachusetts where she was employed as an RN following graduation. She is currently registered in the Commonwealth of Virginia where she has worked in nursing homes, physicians’ offices, and with hospice. She joined the firm of Rawls & McNelis as a Legal Assistant in August 2000.
Ms. Trache can be reached through our toll-free number, 1-877-VET4VET (838-4838).
Debra A. Minnick
Ms. Minnick is a graduate of the Medical College of Virginia and holds a B.S. degree in health information management. She is qualified by the American Health Information Management Association as a Registered Health Information Administrator. Ms. Minnick began her legal career with the law firm of Wright, Robinson, Osthimer and Tatum in 1986 as a legal assistant. She joined Rawls & McNelis in July 2001, where she utilizes her medical records background in her role of Litigation Paralegal.
She has accumulated over fourteen years of medico-legal experience primarily in the areas of product liability, workers’ compensation, and military/VA medical malpractice litigation. Ms. Minnick is a member of the American Health Information Management Association and the Richmond Association of Legal Assistants.
Ms. Minnick can be reached through our toll-free number, 1-877-VET4VET (838-4838).
Nancy B. Roark
Ms. Roark has worked in the legal field beginning in 1989 with Morris & Morris, P.C. Since that time, Ms. Roark has worked with Progressive House Counsel in the area of automobile insurance defense, Sands Anderson in products liability, and other law firms in the Richmond area in medical malpractice defense. She spent 2004-2005 working as a paralegal with Troutman Sanders on their Products Liability Phen-fen Litigation Team, and has recently joined our medical malpractice defense team. Ms. Roark is continuing her education and working on earning an interdisciplinary bachelor’s degree in paralegal/legal studies.
Ms. Roark can be reached through our toll-free number, 1-877-VET4VET (838-4838).
Wendy I. Jenvey, RN, BSN
Ms. Jenvey graduated cum laude from Medical College of Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She has been practicing as a registered nurse for over 20 years. She has worked at Medical College of Virginia Hospital, McGuire VA Medical Center, and Henrico Doctor’s Hospital in the fields of critical care, step-down telemetry, cardiac catheterization lab, pulmonary and critical care research, vascular surgery research, cardiothoracic surgery research, plastic surgery wound healing research, and pediatric pulmonary research. Along with her nursing career she has been an independent Legal Nurse Consultant for over 18 years consulting medical malpractice cases and testifying as an expert nurse witness for both plaintiff and defense firms throughout Virginia. She started with Rawls & McNelis as an in-house Legal Nurse Consultant in April 2006.
Ms. Jenvey can be reached through our toll-free number, 1-877-VET4VET (838-4838).