 He entered the Inner Temple on 13 January 1844, aged twenty-six, was called to the bar on 29 January 1847, and was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1866.Maule served as Recorder of Leeds from 1861 to 1880, when he was appointed as Director of Public Prosecutions.He was Treasurer of his Inn for 1881-1882, was a member of the Council of Legal Education, was knighted in December 1882, and retired as Director of Public Prosecutions in 1884.