Her father worked on the assembly line for one of the automobile companies. Neither was college educated. But they instilled in her a belief that she could do anything she wanted. Though it may sound idealistic, what she wanted to do was make a difference in the world. And law, though it can't change attitudes, can change behavior.
Time waits for no one.
Mayes received her bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and her S.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. After graduation, she was hired in 1976 by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit, where she was assigned to the civil division. When her husband was transferred by General Motors to New York, Mayes moved to the civil division of the U. S. Attorney's Office in Brooklyn. That was her plan. But in 1979 her husband was transferred back to Detroit.