Crain Caton & James

Overview

Charles Maynard possesses over forty years of experience as a transactional lawyer in general business, real estate, and oil and gas matters.

Charles’s transactional practice encompasses the acquisition and divestiture of direct interests in real estate and energy assets and the formation, governance, financing, acquisition and sale of business operating and investment vehicles. He has assisted in the financing, construction and leasing of many different real estate projects including high rise structures in the central business district of Houston, Texas. Charles’s experience also includes the negotiation of a variety of oil and gas transactions involving construction, chartering and sale of offshore drilling vessels, and acquisition, development and sale of onshore and offshore leases in both federal and state waters.

Charles applies the verbal and writing skills he developed as an undergraduate student of literature and history, as well as in law school, and careful attention to negotiation and drafting of legal relationships and documentation. He has significant experience in business litigation that enables him to foresee and address issues and remedies that, if not adequately addressed in contractual arrangements, can lead to disputes and costly litigation and to best position his clients should business disputes arise.

Charles’s experience has been reflected in his certification in Commercial Real Estate by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, which he maintained from December 31, 1985 through December 31, 2020. He served as a law clerk for the Honorable John Fogleman, Associate Judge, Arkansas Supreme Court, from 1975 to 1976.

Charles is also proficient in Italian and French.

Experience

• Counseled and represented start-up businesses and business owners in operations, mergers, acquisitions and sales
• Organized the investment vehicles and financing for the construction of high rise structures in the central business district of Houston as well as the underlying real estate, construction and leasing transactions
• Drafted tunnel connection, construction and operating agreements related to such high rise buildings resulting in a major extension of the unique underground tunnel and over-street pedestrian bridge connection system in downtown Houston
• Represented both landlords and tenants in a variety of leasing transactions involving single and multi-tenant office towers, ground leases, retail centers, warehouse and industrial facilities
• Represented clients in all aspects of capital formation, acquisition, subdivision, construction and sale of a multi-use land development, single family and cluster home subdivisions and commercial reserves
• Represented land owners in negotiations involving pipeline easements, land use over and adjacent to major underground pipelines, seismic testing licenses, oil and gas leases, drill site designations and oil and gas exploration and production activities
• Drafted, amended and enforced of a variety of restrictive covenants involving both residential and commercial properties, as well as establishment of condominium and timeshare regimes
• Negotiated and documented a variety of oil and gas transactions involving construction, chartering and sale of offshore drilling vessels, acquisition, development and sale of onshore and offshore leases in both federal and state waters

Affiliations

• American Bar Association – Real Estate, Probate and Trust Section, member
• Houston Bar Association – Real Estate and Oil, Gas and Mineral Law Sections, member
• Houston Bar Foundation, fellow
• Houston Bar Association – Real Estate Law Section, former council member

Community & Civic

• Friends of the Houston Public Library, past board member and former president
• Julia Ideson Library Preservation Partners, past board member
• Friends of the Texas Room, board member
• Rice Associates, member
• Friends of Fondren Library at Rice University, emeritus board member and former president
• Rice Design Alliance, past board member and former president
• Preservation Houston (formerly the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance), ex-officio board member and former president
• Trees for Houston, emeritus board member and former president
• Dean’s Circle, Rice School of Architecture, member

Honors & Awards

• Texas Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters, 2005-2024
• Best Lawyers in America, BL Rankings, 2022-2025