Sean M. Scott

Biography

Sean Scott is an award-winning professor who served as president and dean of California Western School of Law from 2020-2025. Under her leadership, California Western achieved unprecedented financial growth. A Centennial campaign raised $10 million in just three years, enabling improved facilities, increased scholarships, investment in technological upgrades, and recruitment of top-tier faculty. One of the most significant achievements of her tenure was the historic $3 million donation from Elaine Galinson and Herb Solomon, with an additional $1 million in matching funds. 

Throughout her career, Professor Scott has been a staunch advocate for equity in the legal profession. To ensure the school remains accountable in its commitment to inclusivity, she created California Western’s inaugural Dean of Campus Equity position and established the Equity, Justice, and Engagement (EJE) Steering Committee.

In 2023, she spearheaded the Law, Justice, and Technology Initiative (LJTI), recognizing the critical need for students to understand how emerging technologies will shape the course of their careers and their clients’ lives. Under the LJTI banner, the school hosted panels on algorithmic bias and privacy law and provided funding for students pursuing advanced certifications in privacy law. Last year, the school’s law reviews co-hosted a two-day symposium on AI regulation, further cementing California Western’s role as a thought leader in legal tech.

Prior to joining CWSL, she was a tenured professor at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, where she served as senior associate dean and associate dean for faculty. While at LLS, she expanded legal education through a variety of innovative programs including a Master of Science in Legal Studies, the Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Law program, and the Fashion Law Project. 

Her innovative approach extended to the classroom as well, resulting in numerous honors, including the Student Bar Association's prestigious Excellence in Teaching Award and the Black Law Students Association's Distinguished Faculty Award. 

Professor Scott’s academic interests include legal education, contracts, and disability rights. Her most recent article, Contractual Incapacity and the Americans with Disabilities Act, was published in the Dickinson Law Review and has been recognized by JOTWELL as one of the best works of recent scholarship in the areas of both contracts and elder law. Dean Scott speaks frequently on the topic of legal education and the diversification of the legal academy. Professor Scott currently serves on the co-president of the Society of American Law Teachers, and the co-chair of the Section on Deans of the Association of American Law Schools. 

Before joining academia, Professor Scott was an associate in the Los Angeles office of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. She earned her Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts from Smith College.