Candace Mattoon Carroll, a highly regarded appellate attorney and past president of the San Diego County Bar Association and California Women Lawyers who also helped save the San Diego Opera a decade ago, has died. She was 79.
Despite a humble upbringing, Carroll went on to graduate from Duke Law School, where she met her husband of nearly 50 years, Len Simon. The couple had three sons. Simon described his wife as an early feminist who successfully juggled a legal career, motherhood and volunteer work while also being deeply involved in Democratic politics.
Carroll died from leukemia Jan. 24 at her home with her family.
“Candace really cared about equality and fairness,” said state Sen. Toni Atkins, who recently announced her candidacy for governor in 2026. “Her commitment to women and the LGBTQ community was firm and strong. I always felt like she had my back.”
U.S. District Judge Barry “Ted” Moskowitz, who served seven years as chief federal judge in San Diego, called Carroll “a giant in our legal community” and a pioneer for women lawyers in San Diego.
“When she started in the legal profession, she overcame a male dominated bar and became a partner in a well regarded law firm,” Moskowitz wrote in an email. “She always had concerns for young woman lawyers who were mothers and wanted them to have a positive work life balance. She had a penchant for making sure the less fortunate were treated fairly.”
Carroll was born in Ohio but spent most of her childhood in Washington, D.C., where she later put herself through college at George Washington University by alternating between school and work for seven years. Simon said that when his wife was young, women were expected to be secretaries or mothers, but “Candace wasn’t comfortable with those being her only choices.”
After finishing her undergraduate studies, Carroll attended Duke Law School on a full scholarship.
“Candy was one of our most talented and accomplished alumni,” Kerry Abrams, Duke Law’s dean since 2018, said. “When she graduated in 1974, women lawyers still had a difficult uphill climb, but Candy was unstoppable. She became an incredibly accomplished appellate lawyer while also remaining deeply committed to her community. She helped the next generation of Duke Law students in every possible way, by ing them with scholarships, volunteering her time to serve on our Board, and even teaching courses in advanced legal writing. I feel so grateful to have known her.”
After Duke, Carroll completed a clerkship with the U.S. Court of Appeals D.C. Circuit, then went to work as an appellate attorney for the National Labor Relations Board. That was the start of a career, as well as volunteer work, spent helping and representing workers and disadvantaged people such immigrants and refugees, Simon said.
The couple and their children moved to San Diego in 1983 when Simon took a job with a local law firm. Carroll was working part-time at that point to focus on raising their sons. But she ed a firm now known as Sullivan Hill and “remained associated with that firm until her death,” Simon said.
Carroll served as president of the San Diego County Bar Association in 1998 and president of California Women Lawyers in 2003 and 2004. She also served on the local and national boards of the American Civil Liberties Union, as well as on the boards of the San Diego Convention Center, San Diego Volunteer Lawyers Program and the San Diego chapter of the International Rescue Committee. She served seven years, starting in 2009, as chairwoman of Sen. Barbara Boxer’s San Diego-area advisory committee for federal judge and U.S. attorney nominations.
In 2014, when the San Diego Opera nearly went extinct, Carroll, an opera lover, became deeply involved in saving the organization, according to Carol Lazier, who took over as president of the opera’s board while leading the rescue effort. Carroll ed the board of directors later that same year and served in a leadership role until her death, most recently as secretary/parliamentarian.
“We had a lot of legal questions, and she offered good guidance to our little board,” Lazier said of the early days trying to resuscitate the opera. “With Candace, there was not a bit of pretense. … She was very knowledgeable, a great leader, she asked the hard questions, she was so honest, so straightforward. She never played politics. What you saw was what you got.”
Carroll is survived by her husband; her sons Daniel, Matthew and David; her sister, Clover Carroll; as well as numerous in-laws, nieces and nephews and grand nieces and nephews. Her family will hold a celebration of her life in late March.
