Rutter Award Recognizes Prof. Matt Coles for Guiding Students with Lessons from Storied Advocacy Career 

 

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• Professor Matt Coles wins the 2026 Rutter Award for Teaching Excellence. 

• He shares lessons from his decades of work as a civil rights attorney and advocate. 

• He emphasizes the importance of justice, equality, and public trust in the law. 

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Students and colleagues say they are fortunate to learn from Professor Matt Coles — a legendary civil rights attorney who brings decades of frontline advocacy into the classroom.  

At a March 11 ceremony honoring him with the 2026 Rutter Award for Teaching Excellence, Coles turned the spotlight on his students and colleagues.  

“The real honor is the privilege of a lifetime of being able to work with all of you on such an important thing at such an important moment,” he told students and faculty, pointing to the shared mission of strengthening equality, justice, and the rule of law. 

A 1977 graduate of UC Law San Francisco, Coles built a career at the forefront of civil rights. He served as a legal adviser to Supervisor Harvey Milk, helping draft San Francisco’s law banning sexual orientation discrimination. He later spent decades at the ACLU, leading national advocacy efforts on behalf of voters, immigrants, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ communities. 

Since joining the faculty in 2016, Coles has taught Constitutional Law I and II, Voting Rights, and a seminar on Gender, Sexuality, and the Law — courses shaped by the real-world experience he brings to every class. 

Former student Alexander Nicholson ’23 said stories from Coles’ career leave a lasting impression. He recalled Coles sharing not only victories, but setbacks and the persistence required to keep going. 

“Getting that firsthand insight into the struggles and hardships it took to fight oppression, discrimination, and bigotry inspired in us that optimism … that there would always be people like Professor Coles, and hopefully ourselves, who will stand up and fight,” Nicholson said. 

Nicholson said Coles also taught him to adapt as the law evolves — a lesson he now applies as a litigator at Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani. 

According to 3L students Julia Hunter and Lucas Hummel, Coles combines educational storytelling and rigorous standards with a focus on organization and precision to help students become standout advocates.  

Coles, in turn, praises his students’ sense of purpose. 

“I have never seen such a thirst for justice, for fairness, for decency as I see among our students,” he said. 

He also lauded his colleagues as “brilliant, down-to-earth people” committed to helping students become the best lawyers they can be.  

While the ceremony celebrated his teaching, Coles focused on the broader moment. As the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding, he said the United States  faces a critical challenge: restoring public faith in the legal system. 

He emphasized the urgency of the work underway in law school classrooms and across the legal profession. 

“It has never been more important to be doing this than here and now,” he said.  

The Rutter Award recipient is selected each year by a four-person committee that includes a student, recent alum, the provost & academic dean, and a prior winner. Established in 1979 by law-guide publisher and philanthropist William Rutter, the award honors outstanding professors at California’s top law schools. Thanks to the Rutter Endowment, UC Law SF’s annual winner receives a $15,000 prize. It is one of the top faculty awards given to a UC Law SF faculty member each year.