Anna Stearns Receiving ABA Pro Bono Publico Award
Anna V. Stearns, owner and managing partner of Sneed & Stearns PA in Black Mountain, has been named one of only two individual recipients of the American Bar Association’s 2025 Pro Bono Publico Award, which will be presented during a special awards ceremony in October.
Pro Bono Publico Award recipient Anna Stearns.
Raphael (Rafi) Prober of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP (Akin) in Washington, D.C., and Microsoft Corporate, External and Legal Affairs, are also being honored.
The Pro Bono Publico Award, which was first presented in 1984, represents the highest honor presented by the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service. It is presented in recognition of the “pro bono efforts of individual lawyers and small and large law firms, government attorney offices, corporate law departments and other institutions in the legal profession.”
In its announcement of this year’s recipients, the ABA website reported:
Stearns opened her doors at Sneed & Stearns PA to anyone who needed legal assistance in the immediate wake of Hurricane Helene in 2024. She partnered with Legal Aid of North Carolina to convert her office to a Legal Aid outpost, conducting intake for impoverished neighbors seeking legal help. “Her willingness to take on these roles underscores Anna’s selfless spirit and dedication to the community’s recovery,” said CEO Ashley Campbell of Legal Aid of North Carolina. “To date, Anna has spent hundreds of hours serving Helene survivors.”
Stearns is a graduate of the University of North Carolina Asheville (2013) and Campbell Law School (2018). Prior to entering law school, she served for 15 years as a paralegal to her mentor and law partner, Ronald Sneed. While in Raleigh, she served as legislative assistant to N.C. Rep. Brian Turner and as chief of staff to Chief Justice Cheri Beasley before returning to her hometown of Black Mountain in 2021.
This is only the fourth time that a North Carolina attorney or firm has received the Pro Bono Publico Award. Stearns is preceded in this regard by Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A. (1984), Manlin M. Chee of Greensboro (1991), and Craig Cannon of Winston-Salem (2008), a current partner with Kilpatrick, Townsend and Stockton who was an associate with Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice at the time he was selected for the award.
All four of the individuals and firms from North Carolina who have received the Pro Bono Publico Award, or the firms of the individuals, also received NCBA Pro Bono Awards for the service, which earned them national recognition. Sneed & Stearns received the Law Firm Pro Bono Award for Small and Medium Law Firms at the 2025 NCBA Annual Meeting.
In advance of the ABA awards ceremony, Anna Stearns participated in the following Q&A interview for North Carolina Lawyer:
What was your initial reaction to learning that you had been chosen to receive the ABA Pro Bono Publico Award?
I was stunned, and deeply honored. When I saw the email, I read it twice before it sank in. To be recognized at the national level, especially by an organization like the ABA, is surreal. I don’t think anyone doing pro bono work does it with accolades in mind, but the recognition of the work is something I am deeply grateful for.
And it is certainly not an honor that is mine alone. I could not have done this work if it had not been for the partnership of Legal Aid of North Carolina, Pisgah Legal Services, dedicated volunteer attorneys across the state, and most of all my staff.
Did you know that the award has only been presented previously to three North Carolina recipients – two individuals and one firm?
I had no idea how rare an honor it was until I learned more about the award. Being only the fourth North Carolinian to receive the award makes it even more special. North Carolina is home to so many extraordinary advocates and public servants, so to be counted among such a small number is an honor I don’t take lightly. It also underscored the responsibility I feel to keep showing up in service of others.
What inspired you to open up your heart and your firm to serve your neighbors in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene?
This is my home. These are my people. As the floodwaters began to recede, I saw my neighbors jumping into action to gather and distribute supplies, cook and serve hot meals to our community, and literally rescuing folks from the mountainsides on ATVs.
I’m a terrible cook and I’ve never driven an ATV, but I do have a knack for breaking things down into simple terms and helping take some of the worry out of a stressful situation. I saw folks who were scared, who’d lost everything, and who needed someone to help them navigate a complicated, bureaucratic system at the worst moment of their lives. It just felt like in that moment the only logical thing to do was to use our office to create a space where people could come relieve just a little bit of the worry and get help with the most confusing parts of the recovery process.
What has been your inspiration throughout your career to help those in need through pro bono service?
I’ve been the person on the other side of the desk, worried, overwhelmed, not sure what to do next. I grew up poor and had both of my kids before I turned 20. I know what it’s like to be facing a confusing system alone because there isn’t anyone to even explain it to you, let alone advocate for you.
And I know what the wave of relief feels like when the help you thought would never arrive shows up at your door. The law is a powerful tool, but it can also be a terrible burden. The most gratifying parts of my work are the moments when I get to use my own skills to make sure my neighbors don’t feel like they have to shoulder a legal burden alone, when I get to offer them that feeling of relief.
What can your peers do to help storm victims in Western North Carolina as they continue to rebuild their lives?
Don’t assume the crisis is over just because the headlines have moved on. As our colleagues in Eastern North Carolina well know, the legal fallout from this disaster will last for years.
I am still receiving requests for assistance with FEMA denials, insurance disputes, contractor fraud, and title issues every week. We know that the foreclosures, business failures and bankruptcies will come next. If you have time to take even one case, take it. If your firm has resources, lend them. If you don’t know where to start, reach out and I’ll make sure you get pointed in the right direction.
There’s room for everyone in this work, and the need is far from over.
Russell Rawlings is director of external affairs and communications for the North Carolina Bar Association.