CHARLOTTE – The Estate Law team in the Charlotte office of Wishart Norris Henninger & Pittman has been listed in first tier rankings for law firms in 171 metropolitan areas by a national news magazine.

Attorneys who practice Trusts & Estates Law for Wishart Norris in Charlotte are Robert B. Norris, Richard A. Bigger Jr., Joseph B. Henninger, Steve C. Horowitz, Danica L. Little and Gary W. Smith.

For its “Best Lawyers – Best Law Firms” rankings for 2010, US News surveyed thousands of people in several sectors, including law firm clients, leading lawyers and law firm managers, partners and associates, marketing officers and recruiting officers.

“We are gratified that our peers and clients thought enough of us to rate us among the best in Charlotte and in the country’s biggest cities,” said Norris, managing attorney for the Wishart Norris office in Charlotte, which is on Morrison Boulevard in SouthPark. “We continually endeavor to provide comprehensive service for our closely held business and individual clients.”

Firms were rated on expertise, responsiveness, understanding of a business and its needs, cost-effectiveness, civility, and whether a person would make a referral to that firm.

US News performed the rankings in conjunction with Best Lawyers, the legal profession’s oldest peer-review publication. The complete rankings will appear in the October 2010 issue of US News and on the US News Website in mid-September.

Among the metro areas where firms were ranked were New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington, DC.

Wishart Norris Henninger & Pittman maintains offices in Charlotte and Burlington, NC. The firm concentrates on serving the needs of closely held businesses and their owners as well as individuals in the areas of business, exit planning, litigation, taxation, estate planning, commercial and residential real estate and land use and family law.