A high-profile criminal defense attorney and a lawyer who has represented bereaved families after police shootings around the country are to be honored by the Southern Center for Human Rights.

The Southern Center will present its “Luminary Award” to Donald Samuel of Garland, Samuel & Loeb at “Justice Taking Root,” the legal aid nonprofit’s annual Atlanta benefit reception. Samuel was chosen “for his incomparable ability to provide elite caliber defense to people charged with crimes and his commitment to improving the quality of criminal defense in Georgia,” the group said Friday.