Ms. Maxwell was born in Waukegan, Illinois on May 5, 1951. She attended the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and graduated with a B.A. in 1973 and a Masters in 1976. Ms. Maxwell obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1987, and graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville with a J.D. in 1996. She was admitted to the State Bar of Tennessee in 1996. Ms. Maxwell is a member of the Order of the Coif and was the Articles Editor for the Tennessee Law Review in for 1995 through 1996. She is also an Adjunct Professor for the University of Tennessee College of Law. Ms. Maxwell is currently a member of the Knoxville Bar Association, the Tennessee Bar Association and the American Bar Association.

Ms. Maxwell practices in the areas of employment law, probate administration, business transactions and real estate.