About Anna Drake
Anna Drake Dunkum earned her undergraduate degree in history and philosophy from Elon University in 2007. She stayed at Elon for law school and completed her J.D. in 2010, taking courses that emphasized business law. Those years on campus shaped her approach to legal problems: attention to detail, and an interest in how law intersects with financial and business systems.
Her first position after law school was as a staff lawyer for the Chapter 13 Trustee’s Office for the Middle District of North Carolina. She began that role in 2010 and spent her early career handling bankruptcy matters, drafting pleadings, and supporting the trustee’s administration of Chapter 13 cases. The work required steadiness. It also offered an inside view of consumer bankruptcy processes and case administration.
In 2014 she joined Harry Jernigan CPA Lawyers at Law as a lawyer. That role placed her at the junction of tax, finance, and legal practice. She worked on matters that involved tax consequences tied to consumer and business financial restructuring. Colleagues describe her as someone who pays close attention to numeric detail and the documents that underpin financial disputes.
Dunkum is licensed to practice in both North Carolina and Virginia. She has maintained a presence in Virginia through multiple offices, including locations in Richmond, Virginia Beach and Newport News. That geographic spread allows her to handle matters that cross state lines and to serve clients in urban and coastal communities alike.
Her background combines courtroom and administrative experience in bankruptcy with legal work alongside professionals trained in accounting. The trajectory from a trustee’s office to a firm that serves clients with tax and financial needs gives her a practical perspective on how cases move from filing to resolution. She approaches each matter by parsing the factual and financial record, assessing legal options, and then choosing a path that aligns with statutory and procedural requirements.
Outside of casework she has continued to follow developments in bankruptcy and tax law that affect both consumers and small businesses. Her current practice centers on bankruptcy and tax-related matters across Virginia and North Carolina.
