Well aware that it seems oxymoronic to be committed to peace and a warrior's path, Carroll has incorporated George Leonard's Modern Samurai creed into her personal mission statement: (See Thinking Outside the Box”.)

She became an attorney in 1983, after six years in the United States Air Force as an electronic technician. She has an AA degree in Radio Science she obtained while in the Air Force, in addition to her undergraduate degree in English from Goddard College in Vermont. She then attended a law school via a two-year conceptual approach and passed the difficult California bar exam bar on her first try. During this period she also remained active in the Air Force Reserve, despite the intensity of the two year "SCALE" program of law—usually a three or four year course. She suspects this led to her being an "outside the box" thinker, and she hasn't looked back since.

She currently practices collaborative and non adversarial law only, working creatively with clients form many walks of life as a mediator, a business consultant, a coach, and/or transactional attorney for consumers with legal problems.

She has often been interviewed about nonadversarial law, and incorporation of spiritual values into law. She believes this will soon be accepted as a valid alternative to the traditional approach, just as it is in medicine.

She is currently rewriting her self-published book, originally titled "How to Get Your Divorce Without Getting Screwed Blued and Tattooed." It is now called "Healing Your Inner Divorce" and incorporates a soulful approach to this life crisis.

In November, 2001 she co-presented at the Southern California Mediation Association 13th Annual Interactive Conference, the theme of which was "Transformative Mediation." Her presentation was entitled "Opening the Bottle of your Spiritual Genie." The concept was that of using transpersonal (spiritual) foci to facilitate conflict resolution, and permanent healing of both individuals, not just "ending the argument."

In November, 2001 she co-presented at the Southern California mediation Association 13th Annual Interactive Conference, the theme of which was transformative mediation. Her presentation was entitled "Opening the Bottle of your Spiritual Genie." The concept was that of using transpersonal (spiritual) foci to facilitate conflict resolution.

In a previous year, she was included in a book by the American Bar Association Journal titled "Transforming Practices: Finding Joy and Satisfaction in the Legal Life," by Steven Keeva. In this book, a leading legal organization embraces healing as a legitimate goal of the legal profession. (Those interested can find this book on Amazon.com) In addition, she has been recently interviewed by Lawyer's Weekly and Smart Money Magazine on the topic of collaborative law.

A leader in the movement toward the transformation of the practice of law, Carroll spoke to other attorneys at the California State Bar Annual Meeting on "How to Practice Congruent with our Values: a Holistic Approach to the Practice of Law."

In May 2000 and May 2001, she was a presenter at the 8th and 9th Annual Conflict Resolution Conferences in St. Petersburg Russia on the topic "Creating a Culture of Peace, the Role of Lawyers and the Law." Ms. Linda Seinturier, CFLS, at the invitation of Ms. Straus, spoke at the 9th Annual International Conference in May 2001 to a group of professionals from all over the world, presenting the principles of collaborative family law, or CFL.

For most, it was the first time they had ever heard of the concept.
Comments from participants include --