BURLINGTON – Two attorneys in the Burlington office of Wishart Norris Henninger & Pittman have made a list of “Rising Stars,” which recognizes North Carolina’s top lawyers younger than 40.

Charlie Brown, 39, and Derek Steed, 37, were picked in the special “Rising Stars” category of “Super Lawyers,” which selects outstanding attorneys in more than 70 practice areas who have attained high peer recognition and professional achievement.

For “Rising Stars,” the “Super Lawyers” organization says it evaluates candidates on 12 indicators: verdicts, settlements, transactions, representative clients, experience, honors and awards, special licenses and certifications, position within the law firm, bar and other professional activity, pro bono and community service, scholarly lectures and writings, education and employment background and other outstanding achievements.

Both Brown and Steed have been recognized in the Triad Business Journal’s list of “40 Under 40 Leaders,” Steed in 2006 and Brown in 2007. Brown and Steed were also recognized on the “Rising Star” roster in 2009.

Brown recently won accreditation as a Veterans Affairs attorney. He is a board-certified specialist in estate planning and probate law, and serves on the Estate Planning and Probate Law Specialty Committee of the North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specializing. Besides estate planning and taxes, he counsels clients on elder law, asset protection, Medicaid, business succession planning and special needs, disability and creation and administration of charitable foundations.

Brown graduated Magna Cum Laude in Music and Communications from Wake Forest University in 1992. He earned a master’s of Business Administration and his law degree from Wake Forest, both in 1997.

He is the son of Dan and Sandra Brown of Clayton.

Steed joined the board of trustees of Alamance Community College in August 2009. He was the 2009 chairman of the board for United Way of Alamance County and is a former chairman of the Alamance County Area Chamber of Commerce as well as the Alamance County Economic Foundation and the Alamance Sports Development Council.

In 2007, Steed won the Centennial Award from the North Carolina Bar Association for exemplary community service.

He earned a bachelor’s in History and Government Summa Cum Laude at West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1994. He graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1997.

Steed is the son of Gerald and Diana Steed of Buckhannon, West Virginia.

Wishart Norris Henninger & Pittman, P.A., concentrates on the needs of closely held businesses and individuals in the areas of business, litigation, taxation, succession planning, estate planning, real estate and land use, family law and employment.