Anna Hedgepeth is passionate about the business side of law and combines that passion with her legal education, development, and marketing experience to maintain a client-focused, teamwork strategy for the firm. Anna’s career has been driven by understanding the dynamic between business development and strategic growth. The cornerstones of her career have been taking ideas and turning them into actions that result in both growth and positive cultural shifts.
Anna currently serves as the Director of Strategy & Business Development for Cranfill Sumner LLP where she advises the firm’s Management Committee on the firm’s strategic position while also leading the strategic planning committee and business development and marketing team. Over the years, she has held multiple positions at Cranfill Sumner LLP. Most recently she served as the Director of Business Development and was responsible for developing and implementing the firm’s core values, business development coaching programs, and various client value-add programs, including client training programs.
Anna is actively involved in both her professional and local communities. She has served as the Chair of the Legal Marketing Association’s Raleigh City Group and on the advisory board. She currently serves on the Helton Scholar Endowment Fund Committee for the WakeMed Foundation. She is a member of The Circle, a leadership training and development program for top-tier legal marketing professionals from firms nationwide. The goal of the program is to help enhance leadership and collaborative skills among participants and offer a support network for personal and professional growth. She is a former Board Member of the Triangle Literacy Council where she was involved in legislative efforts to secure state funding for the expansion of the Juvenile Literacy Program. In addition, she has served on the advisory board for a local business with multiple locations across the state and on the advisory council for the legal clinics at Campbell Law School.
In 2022 she received the Cranfill Sumner LLP Core Value award, which recognizes employees who exhibit the firm’s core values of teamwork, client service, and reputation. In 2014, she was recognized with a Your Honor Award by the Legal Marketing Association Southeast Chapter (comprised of 10 states across the Southeastern United States) as the Member of the Year. In 2016 she received her second Your Honor Award in Social/Interactive Media for an internal business development initiative at Cranfill Sumner LLP that she helped create and lead. In law school, Anna served as Student Bar Association President and received the David Roy Teddy Innovative Leadership and Service Award and the Student Bar Association’s Service Award for her dedication to making the Campbell Law Community a better place. She also served as a Webster’s Scholar for Webster’s Real Estate Law in North Carolina.
In her spare time, she loves to spend time with her husband and their three children.
Speaking Engagements
In addition to regularly hosting Cranfill Conversations, a monthly deep-dive into legal topics and trends with legal experts within the firm, Anna regularly speaks on all things strategy and business development related. Her prior speaking engagements include:
2022 – Anna was a guest on Passle’s CMO Series podcast. She spoke on her personal story about leading change management within a legal business development and marketing team.
2022 – Raleigh-Durham Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators – Anna presented “Equipping Your Team for Change,” where she spoke on best practices for implementing change at the organizational level and how to help a team prepare to handle changes in the workplace such as family leaves, onboarding a new team member, or learning to work remotely as a team.
2022 – Virtual Seminar hosted by the Legal Marketing Association of the Southeast Region – Anna presented on “Equipping Your Team for Change” and provided best practices for preparing marketing teams for adapting to changes in their offices without losing sight of their big-picture goals and focus.
2022 – Emcee and Host, Cranfill Sumner Legal Summit
2021 – Webinar presented by LexisNexis® InterAction®, Panelist for Best Practices and Tips for BD and Marketing for law firms Panelist
2020 – Emcee and Host, Cranfill Sumner Fall Seminar
2019 – Alternative JD Careers Panelist, Campbell Law School, Raleigh, NC
2019 – Webinar presented by the Legal Marketing Association, spoke on “BD Coaching for the Small Marketing Department: Tips, Tricks and Truths”
2019 – Emcee and Host, Cranfill Sumner Fall Seminar
2018 – Panelist at Accelerate Conference and spoke on “Your Systems: End User Adoption” which explored how law firms use artificial intelligence to train attorneys and provided tips for successful end-user adoption, Cary, NC
2018 – Interaction Conference panelist for a discussion on global sales and support personnel for the InterAction client management platform. Panelists discussed Why InterAction? How does InterAction fit into your workflows? Where does a CRM system make the most impact? Where could AI most impact your daily routine? Tips and Tricks to help Simplifying the Business Development Process, Raleigh, NC
2014 – Association of Legal Administrators Chapter panelist on recent business development and marketing trends
2014 – Campbell Magazine Features Anna Hedgepeth (page 19)
2014 – Conference Emcee of the first Alt. J.D. Conference of the N.C. Bar Association and the Center for Practice Management. The conference examines career paths and options for legal professionals who have an interest in pursuing jobs beyond practicing law.
2014 – Campbell Law School Alumni Panel – The panel addressed a group of admitted students and examined their experiences as students of the school, the culture of the school, and the benefits of attending the school.
Most Recent Posts
Anna Hedgepeth and Julia Belcher Serve on LMASE Conference Committee
Anna Hedgepeth and Julia Belcher served on the Planning Committee for the LMASE 2023 Regional Conference. The event, which was themed “Harmony: Striking the Right Chord,” was held in Nashville Nov. 8-10.… Read More
Anna Hedgepeth Participates in CMO Discussion
Anna Hedgepeth served on a panel at the recent CMO Series Best Practice Roundtable, which was hosted by Passle. The meeting was held in Atlanta, GA.… Read More
Anna Hedgepeth Named One of Triangle Business Journal’s 40 Under 40
Anna Hedgepeth has been named to the Triangle Business Journal’s 2023 40 Under 40 list. The winners were honored June 29.… Read More
Anna Hedgepeth Presents at Southeastern Women Litigators Conference
Anna Hedgepeth was a presenter during the 2023 Southeastern Women Litigators Conference on March 22. Anna served on the panel entitled “SEAing Results: Creating Opportunities and Building Relationships.”… Read More
Anna Hedgepeth Promoted to Director of Strategy and Business Development
Cranfill Sumner LLP today announced that Anna Hedgepeth has been promoted to the position of Director of Strategy and Business Development.… Read More
Anna Hedgepeth Featured on Passle Podcast
Anna Hedgepeth is featured on the latest edition of the Passle Podcast. She discusses her role in business development, strategic planning, and marketing and how she’s incorporated change management throughout her career.… Read More
Cranfill Sumner LLP Awards 2022 Core Value Awards
Cranfill Sumner LLP (CSH Law) today announced that John Martin and Anna Hedgepeth were honored with the firm’s 2022 Core Value Awards.… Read More
Cranfill Sumner Attorneys and Staff Volunteer for Bar Candidate Interviews
Attorneys and staff members of Cranfill Sumner LLP volunteered to perform bar candidate interviews for the NC Board of Law Examiners prior to the July 2022 bar exam.… Read More
Anna Hedgepeth Presents at Association of Legal Administrators Meeting
On June 15, Anna Hedgepeth served as a presenter at the chapter meeting of the Raleigh-Durham Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators.… Read More
Anna Hedgepeth Presents on “Equipping Your Team for Change” to LMASE
Anna Hedgepeth, the Director of Business Development at Cranfill Sumner LLP, presented at the recent “Equipping Your Team for Change” seminar from the Legal Marketing Association of the Southeast Region. The virtual event was held on Feb. 24.… Read More
Anna Hedgepeth Speaks at LexisNexis Event
Anna Hedgepeth participated in a panel discussion during the virtual Executive Wine Tasting presented by LexisNexis® InterAction® on Nov. 18.… Read More
Anna Hedgepeth Discusses Alternative JD Legal Careers
Anna Hedgepeth participated in a panel discussion about Alternative JD Legal Careers at the Campbell University School of Law on March 28. The panel was comprised of professionals who have explored legal careers outside of traditional attorney roles including legal tech, government, nonprofit and business development.… Read More
Anna Hedgepeth to Participate in LMA Webinar on Business Development & Coaching
Anna Hedgepeth will be a presenter in the “BD Coaching for the Small Marketing Department: Tips, Tricks and Truths” webinar presented by the Legal Marketing Association on March 27.… Read More
Anna Hedgepeth Speaks at Accelerate Conference
Anna Hedgepeth, the Director of Business Development for Cranfill Sumner LLP, is a featured speaker at the Accelerate Business Development Summit. This is the third annual Accelerate event sponsored by LexisNexis InterAction.… Read More
Anna Hedgepeth Participates in LexisNexis Panel Discussion
Anna Hedgepeth, Cranfill Sumner LLP’s Director of Business Development, spoke as part of a panel discussion at the LexisNexis conference for InterAction on March 13. The conference included a panel discussion for global sales and support personnel for the InterAction client management platform.… Read More
Cranfill Sumner Participates in WakeMed Love Light Celebration
Cranfill Sumner LLP is proud to serve as a sponsor of a Santa’s Mini-Session during the WakeMed Love Light celebration. The Love Light Celebration is a fundraising event that benefits children’s services at WakeMed Children’s.… Read More
Cranfill Sumner Team Wins Kick it 4 Kids Kickball Tournament, Raises Funds for WakeMed
A team from Cranfill Sumner LLP recently won the 2016 Friends of WakeMed Kick it 4 Kids Kickball Tournament! In addition, the team was named the tournament Fundraising Champions after raising $1,190, more than any other team in the tournament.… Read More
Anna Hedgepeth Discusses Marketing and Business Development with ALA Chapter
Anna Hedgepeth, the Director of Business Development at Cranfill Sumner LLP, served as part of a panel discussion for the Raleigh-Durham Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators. The panel discussed various aspects of legal marketing and business development focusing on recent industry trends.… Read More
Anna Hedgepeth Appointed to Campbell Law Clinics Advisory Council
Anna Hedgepeth, the Director of Business Development of Cranfill Sumner LLP, was recently named to the new Campbell Law Clinics Advisory Council.… Read More
Anna Hedgepeth Promoted to Director of Business Development
Cranfill Sumner LLP (Cranfill Sumner) today announced the promotion of Anna Hedgepeth to the position of Director of Business Development. In this role she will work with attorneys and firm management to develop plans to retain and grow market share, generate awareness of the firm and its lawyers, and build relationships.… Read More
Legal Marketing Association Chooses Anna Hedgepeth as Chair-Elect
Anna Hedgepeth, the Business Development and Marketing Manager for Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog LLP, has been chosen to serve as… Read More
Anna Hedgepeth to Chair Community Relations Committee
Anna Hedgepeth, the Bus. Development and Marketing Manager for Cranfill Sumner, elected Chair of the Community Relations Team for the Friends of WakeMed Foundation.… Read More
Anna Hedgepeth Chosen “Member of the Year” for Regional Legal Marketing Association
Anna Hedgepeth, Business Development and Marketing Manager for Cranfill Sumner, Member of the Year for the Southeast Chapter of the Legal Marketing Association.… Read More
Campbell Magazine Features Anna Hedgepeth
Anna Hedgepeth, of Cranfill Sumner, featured in Campbell Magazine. Anna assisted in the creation of the SBA President’s Endowed Scholarship.… Read More
Anna Hedgepeth To Speak at Alternative JD Conference
Ginny Allen and Anna Hedgepeth participate at Alt. J.D. Conference of the NCBA and the Center for Practice Management. … Read More
Anna Hedgepeth Elected to Literacy Council Board
Anna Hedgepeth, Business Development and Marketing Manager for Cranfill Sumner, elected to the Board of Directors for the Literacy Council of Wake County. … Read More
Anna Hedgepeth Organizes LMASE Service Night for Ronald McDonald House
Anna Hedgepeth, of Cranfill Sumner organized the 2014 Community Service Project for the Raleigh City Group of the Legal Marketing Association Southeastern Chapter.… Read More
Anna Brinkley Participates in Law School Panel Discussion
Anna Brinkley, Business Development and Marketing Manager with Cranfill Sumner LLP, participated in a panel discussion at Campbell Law School.… Read More