San Rafael private investigator Denise Garety has won the annual A. Leonard Bjorklund Jr. award from Alternate Defenders Inc.

The award, named for the longtime Marin lawyer who died in 2004, recognizes excellence in the representation of indigent defendants. Previous honorees include attorneys Jon Rankin of Tiburon, Robin Brennan of San Anselmo and Steven Wasserman and Carl Gonser of San Rafael.

Alternate Defenders Inc. is a nonprofit corporation that provides lawyers for indigent defendants in cases in which the public defender’s office has a conflict of interest. A conflict is usually declared when there are multiple suspects in a case and one of them is already being represented by a public defender. Garety shares the award with Tiburon attorney Tracy Barrett.