Maximum sum of depths of all external nodes in a Binary Tree
Consider a tree that has a chain of length $n/2$ at the top, where each node has exactly one child. Then, the remaining $n/2$ nodes are attached at the bottom of the chain, as a complete tree of depth $\log_2 (n/2)$.

With this shape, every leaf is at depth $n/2 + \log_2 (n/2) = \Theta(n)$. There are about $n/4=\Theta(n)$ leaves.  So, the sum of the depths of the leaves is $E(T) = \Theta(n^2)$.

This is asymptotically optimal; no tree can have $E(T) = \omega(n^2)$, as the maximum possible depth is $n$, and the maximum number of leaves is $n$, so we have $E(T) \le n^2 = O(n^2)$.