Anna B. Hedgepeth

Anna Hedgepeth is a dynamic leader at the intersection of law, business development, and strategic growth. With a strong foundation in public relations and legal education coupled with extensive experience in law firm marketing and strategy, she specializes in translating ideas into actionable business development plans that drive client engagement and organizational success.

As Cranfill Sumner’s first Chief Strategy Officer, Anna plays a pivotal role in shaping the firm’s growth. She serves on the Management Committee, leads the business development and marketing team, and oversees firm-wide strategic initiatives. In her previous role as Director of Strategy & Business Development, she:

• Founded The Strategic Planning Committee.
• Launched a business development coaching program.
• Developed client value-add initiatives, including comprehensive training programs.

Industry Leadership & Community Involvement

Anna is an active leader in the legal marketing and business development community. She serves on the Legal Marketing Association Southeast (LMASE) Regional Board of Directors and previously chaired the 2023 LMASE Regional Conference in Nashville, TN. Additionally, she has chaired the LMA Raleigh City Group and served on its advisory board. She regularly speaks on various topics including law firm business and development.

Beyond her professional commitments, Anna is dedicated to community service, and has previously held leadership roles with:

• Best Lawyers® CMO Advisory Board, Member
• The Helton Scholar Endowment Fund Committee – WakeMed Foundation
• Triangle Literacy Council
• Campbell Law School Clinic Advisory Committee

Awards & Recognition

Anna’s impact has been recognized through multiple prestigious honors:

• Triangle Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” (2023)
• Cranfill Sumner Core Value Award (2022)
• Legal Marketing Association Southeast “Member of the Year” Award (2014)
• Legal Marketing Association Southeast “Your Honor” Awards for social interactive media & individual website(2015, 2016)
• David Roy Teddy Innovative Leadership & Service Award – Law School
• Student Bar Association President & Service Award – Law School

Personal & Inspirational Perspective

Outside of work, Anna enjoys spending time with her husband, three children, and their dog, Hank. A lover of quotes, she would sum up her philosophy in the following way:

“Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice and discipline.” – Jim Collins

Speaking Engagements

Anna regularly speaks on all things strategy and business development related. Her prior speaking engagements include:

2026 – Panelist for Law.com webinar “Pacesetter Research: AI Adoption Versus AI Strategy” 

2026 – Speaker for Best Lawyers AI Fireside Chat – Along with Best Lawyers’ CEO Phil Greer, Anna discussed AI in law firms and provided best practices for using AI.

2026 – Speaker for North Carolina Bar Association “Lawyering in the Age of AI: Harnessing Artificial Intelligence, Emerging Technologies, and Ethical Practice in the Digital Era” conference

2025 – Panelist for Law.com webinar – “Is Your Law Firm Growing Fast Enough? Scale, Consolidation and Competition”

2025 – Moderator – Legal Marketing Association Southeast Region Town Hall “Lights, Camera, LMA!”

2024 – Panelist for Law.com webinar – “What it Takes to be a Rainmaker in 2024”

2023 – Passle CMO Series Best Practice Roundtable – Anna served on a roundtable panel that offered law firm Chief Marketing Officers the opportunity to collaborate with their peers, discuss their biggest challenges, and what is driving success at their firms.

2023 – Mother Board Podcast – Anna was featured on the Mother Board Podcast, where she discussed business development and personal branding.

2023 – Southeastern Women Litigators Conference – Anna served on the panel “SEAing Results: Creating Opportunities and Building Relationships”

2022 – 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, “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.