Eileen A. Scallen, a longtime teacher of courses in civil procedure and evidence, whose uncommon dedication to supporting students at UCLA School of Law has been roundly applauded since she joined the law school a decade ago, earned the 2023 Rutter Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Scallen is a professor of practice at UCLA Law, where she serves as the director of the part-time faculty and a deeply valued instructor of many students each school year. She is the 46th member of the UCLA Law faculty to win the Rutter Award, which is the law school’s highest honor for distinction in the classroom. Founded in 1979 by famed legal publisher William Rutter, the award is presented annually to legal educators at five top California law schools.

At a community celebration on April 6, Rutter’s son Paul Rutter ’78, a UCLA Law alumnus who is a member of the law school’s board of advisors and practices real estate law at Cozen O’Connor, delivered welcome remarks alongside UCLA Law Interim Dean Russell Korobkin.

In front of a crowd that included Scallen’s colleagues, current and former students, and family members, Korobkin quoted from several glowing student evaluations of Scallen’s teaching, spoke of her devotion to her students and to legal education, and emphasized how well she represents the UCLA Law faculty’s proud commitment to outstanding work in the classroom.

“Eileen joined our faculty in 2013, but she has been respected, admired and – in many cases, as her reviews make abundantly clear – adored by her students for a lot longer than that,” said Korobkin, who has taught negotiation with Scallen.

Korobkin quoted from several glowing evaluations from students who highlighted Scallen’s dedication to their wellbeing. One such review read, “Professor Scallen is a literal gem – I can’t really think of another way to put it.”

In accepting the award, Scallen took time to recognize that great teaching is a broad community effort, encompassing the work of people ranging from members of the Records Office to the technology support staff. “Although teaching may look like a solitary endeavor, I can assure you that good teaching requires a team,” she said. “And I have the best team at UCLA law school.”

She remarked that while law professors are not customarily given instructions on how to teach, she entered the legal profession with some teaching experience, and she was able to rely on the advice of a mentor, who gave her the simple formula that has guided her teaching philosophy for three decades: “Have the highest standards while giving the most support.”

In addition to the core classes of civil procedure and evidence, Scallen teaches a course called advanced evidence objections and arguments, as well as a law 101 class, introduction to legal analysis, which students take before the start of their full slate of first-year courses. Scallen has also co-taught classes in negotiation, and she served for four years as the law school’s associate dean for curriculum and academic affairs.

Previously, Scallen served on the faculty and taught at UC Law San Francisco (formerly Hastings), where she won the 1992 award for Outstanding Faculty Member, and at Mitchell Hamline College of Law. She has been honored for her extensive pro bono service, including efforts that support the LGBTQ community, and she has co-authored several books on evidence and legal practice.

Scallen earned her B.A. from St. Olaf College, M.A. from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School, where she was editor-in-chief of the Minnesota Law Review. She clerked for Judge A. Wallace Tashima of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and was an associate at Latham & Watkins.