Anna Stearns has spent much of her life at Sneed & Stearns. She first walked through the firm's doors as a high school intern, eventually becoming Ron Sneed's paralegal and working alongside him for 15 years before leaving to attend law school. Today, she owns and leads the firm where her legal career began.

A lifelong Buncombe County resident, Anna earned degrees from Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College and UNC Asheville before graduating with honors from Campbell University School of Law in 2018. Her career has taken her from a small-town law office to the highest levels of North Carolina's state government. She worked as Legislative Assistant to Rep. Brian Turner in the North Carolina General Assembly and later as General Counsel and Chief of Staff to Chief Justice Cheri Beasley of the North Carolina Supreme Court.

In 2021, Anna returned to Black Mountain and purchased the firm from Ron. As Managing Partner, she has continued its longstanding tradition of providing practical, personalized legal counsel while growing the practice to meet the changing needs of the community. Her work includes real estate transactions, litigation of complex title issues, estate and administration, and other general civil matters.

Anna believes that being a good lawyer means more than knowing the law. It means understanding the people you serve, explaining complicated issues in plain language, and helping clients make informed decisions about matters that affect their families, homes, and livelihoods.

Following Hurricane Helene in 2024, Anna opened the firm's doors to serve as a legal assistance outpost, working with Legal Aid of North Carolina to help hundreds of neighbors navigate FEMA appeals and other disaster recovery issues. Her work was recognized with the American Bar Association's 2025 Pro Bono Publico Award, one of the nation's highest honors for pro bono legal service. Sneed & Stearns also received the North Carolina Bar Association's 2025 Law Firm Pro Bono Award.

Anna is actively involved in the community, and has served on the boards of beloved local institutions like Bounty & Soul, the Black Mountain-Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce, and Black Mountain Savings Bank. She remains deeply committed to the place that raised her and to ensuring that the legal profession continues to serve the people who need it most.