Mae Quinn teaches and writes in the areas of criminal law, procedure, evidence, ethics, civil rights, legal history, and youth justice. Her scholarly work includes more than 30 articles and essays published by top journals such as the Harvard Journal of Gender & Law, NYU Review of Law & Social Change, Washington and Lee Law Review, and Iowa Law Review. Previously, she taught at Georgetown University Law Center, Washington University School of Law, and the University of Tennessee School of Law. Quinn began her career as a law clerk for the late Judge Jack B. Weinstein in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York and has experience as a public defender in New York City, briefing and arguing 40 appeals. From 2009 to 2016, Quinn collaborated with students and community activists to improve Missouri’s juvenile municipal court systems through litigation and advocacy. In 2016, she launched the MacArthur Justice Center in St. Louis, targeting conditions in Missouri's prisons and parole practices, focusing on substantial reforms. Quinn has established and run legal education programs in jails and detention centers in the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, and served as lead counsel on United States Supreme Court amicus briefs addressing youth justice and civil rights.