[4] Totenberg earned an Artium Baccalaureus, magna cum laude, in 1974 from Harvard-Radcliffe College and a Juris Doctor in 1977 from Harvard Law School.

[5][6] Upon graduating from Harvard-Radcliffe, Totenberg worked as a summer intern at the law firm of James M. Haviland in Charleston, West Virginia.

[7][6] In February 2009, Totenberg submitted a resume and letter of interest for a United States district judgeship vacancy.

After an interview by a committee appointed by the Georgia Democratic Congressional delegation, Totenberg was among the applicants whose names were submitted to the White House.

On March 17, 2010, President Barack Obama nominated Totenberg to fill the judicial vacancy on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia that had been created by the decision by Judge Jack Tarpley Camp Jr. to assume senior status at the end of 2008.