Theodore Howard of Wiley Rein has long defended the rights of prisoners and fought against prison overcrowding across the country. John Relman of Relman, Dane & Colfax has championed the development of integrated communities in the fight for racial and economic justice.

Howard and Relman on Wednesday received the Washington Lawyers' Committee's 2015 Wiley A. Branton Award, named for civil rights advocate Wiley A. Branton Sr. Nearly 1,000 attorneys and business leaders gathered at the Grand Hyatt Washington Hotel for the awards ceremony.

The lawyers' committee honored Howard (left) for his work as Wiley Rein's first full-time pro bono partner, as well as his role on the Washington Lawyers' Committee's DC Prisoners' Project.