An Essential Refresher Course on 'SVU' Character Lorraine Maxwell

You'd be forgiven if you watched the promo for tonight's Law & Order: SVU and needed a refresher on the character Lorraine Maxwell. The 19th episode, cryptically titled "Bend the Law," sees Dominick Carisi Jr. (Peter Scanavino) navigate a tricky situation when Maxwell's husband becomes a "person of interest" in the squad's investigation.

But, um, who is Lorraine Maxwell again?

Sure, she's played by the incomparable Broadway legend Betty Buckley—a woman who is hard to forget—but SVU has been around for well over two decades. It's impossible to remember the revolving door of ensemble cast-members with enough detail to enter into their big, pivotal episodes with a diehard's confidence. That's especially true if said cast-member has played more than one character on the show, as Buckley has (she was Attorney Walsh in Seasons 7, 8 and 10). Cut your audience some slack, SVU!

With your sanity in mind, we put together a cheat sheet of everything you need to remember about Lorraine Maxwell.

Related: Law & Order: SVU Gets Renewed—All About the Show's Milestone 25th Season

Who is Lorraine Maxwell in Law & Order: SVU?

Lorraine Maxwell is the trial division chief and ADA Dominick Carisi's boss. She first appeared in Season 23, Episode 8 (Nov. 11, 2021), when she clashed with Carisi and Captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) over whether to charge an abuse victim with murder.

Who plays Lorraine Maxwell in Law & Order: SVU?

Tony Award-winning actress Betty Buckley plays Lorraine Maxwell. Buckley nabbed a Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 1983 for her portrayal of Grizabella in Cats. She took on the role of Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard (1994-96) and recently played the lead in the U.S. national tour of Hello, Dolly. 

What episodes does the Lorraine Maxwell character appear in on Law & Order: SVU?

Lorraine Maxwell has appeared in six episodes of Law & Order: SVU since 2021. She'll make her seventh appearance on April 27, 2023, when SVU returns to NBC after a two-week hiatus. Her episodes—and the important Maxwell takeaways from each—are as follows:

"Nightmares In Drill City" (Season 23, Episode 8)

Lorraine Maxwell butts heads with Benson and Carisi over whether or not to charge a young trafficking victim with murder (Maxwell thinks they should, at least at first). Ultimately, Carisi convinces his higher-up that they should drop the charges, cutting a deal that allows the defendant to complete 200 hours of community service and counseling instead of jail time.

"Sometimes justice is about compassion and not punishment, and that’s what this office stands for," Maxwell tells reporters toward the end of the episode, citing what Carisi had said earlier to change her mind.

The takeaway? Maxwell is tough, but she has a soft center—and Carisi and Benson know how to tap into it.

Related: Kelli Giddish Is Returning to Law & Order: SVU—and There's a Twist You Won't See Coming

"If I Knew Then What I Know Now" (Season 23, Episode 13)

Five episodes after her contentious debut, Maxwell returns for a case involving alleged rapist Cole Eaton, and we learn that Maxwell has a history with sexual assault herself. As she shared with Carisi and Benson, she was raped at a Harvard party by a "multiple generation legacy."

"I’ve never told a soul about this," she said. "Until today."

Then, in her most Maxwell way, she ordered: "Take down Cole Eaton."

"Tangled Strands of Justice" (Season 23, Episode 19)

Benson is livid when she learns that Detective Szabo had been using rape kit DNA to go after convictions, most recently in a case against a woman named Libby, a victim from Season 22 who had turned to a life of crime. Benson tells the Queens DA that she wants the case thrown out, but the DA refuses.

Maxwell uses her significant political clout to get the Queens DA to toss the case. How'd she pull that off? She had dinner with a judge who let it slip that the DA once used his signature to order a wiretap on her philandering husband.

Towards the end of the episode, Benson and Maxwell watch the DA giving a televised press conference, explaining why she dropped the charges and inviting other city DA's to join her in asking for legislation that makes it illegal to use DNA rape kits to build a criminal case.

"I’ve learned that the best way to get anything done is to let other people take the credit," Maxwell says. So wise.

"A Final Call At Forlini's Bar" (Season 23, Episode 22)

In the Season 23 finale, Maxwell and Carisi join forces to convict a woman who killed her abusive husband. (Carisi's predecessor, Rafael Barba, is her defense attorney.) After the defendant-slash-victim has a breakdown on the stand, Barba, Maxwell and Carisi work out a deal to charge the woman with a misdemeanor.

Earlier in the episode, we learn that Maxwell was a victim of abuse herself. "I was in an abusive marriage for 15 years," she told Benson. "I got out—I didn't kill him." Benson was none-too-pleased with the comment, pointing out that perhaps Maxwell had more resources to get away than their perp.

Ultimately, Maxwell's empathy won out. Sensing a pattern?

"The One You Feed" (Season 24, Episode 2)

A defendant in a gang rape offers to wear a wire against the other attackers in exchange for a plea bargain, but Carisi refuses. The defendant's attorney takes the the deal over Carisi's head to Maxwell—but she isn't having it either.

Don't mess with her office!

"The Steps We Cannot Take" (Season 24, Episode 4)

Benson and her team discover a group of abused women—and the dead body of the man who'd been holding them captive. In trying to figure out who killed the episode's monster (a guy named Soren), Benson realizes that it was a little girl who'd spent her entire life under Soren's rule. Turns out, the girl shot him to protect another victim's unborn child—and Benson is not going to give her up.

Towards the end of the episode, she tells Maxwell she doesn't have a suspect—but it's clear, through coded language, that Maxwell doesn't believe her.

"I believe this is what we call a stalemate in chess," Maxwell says. "I think I’m being clear with you...an open homicide means your case will be open forever."

Benson tells her she gets it, and that if the investigation turns up a viable suspect, Maxwell will be the first to know.

"Okay, we understand each other," Maxwell says. "But Captain, justice may be blind, but she’s not entirely heartless. And you’ll see how heartless I can be should this conversation ever come back to haunt me."

What happened to Lorraine Maxwell's first husband in Law & Order: SVU?

Lorraine Maxwell has an unnamed ex-husband on Law & Order: SVU. It's unclear what happened to him, but we know from Season 23, Episode 22 that he was abusive.

Her second husband, Roger Briggs (Tom Irwin), is apparently in hot water in tonight's episode. Is it possible that Maxwell will ... bend the law to help him? Tune in at 9 p.m. ET on NBC to find out!

Next, Law & Order: SVU's Ryan Buggle Details Sleepovers With Mariska Hargitay’s Kids