Charles D. Maynard, Jr.

Senior Counsel

713.752.8613

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Charles Maynard possesses more than forty-five years of experience as a transactional lawyer advising and assisting clients in general business, real estate and energy matters. He has been a shareholder of Crain, Caton & James, PC since 1987.

Charles’s transactional practice has included 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 and wind and solar power projects throughout the state of Texas. Charles’s experience also includes the negotiation of a variety of oil and gas and other energy related assets and 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 developed his verbal and writing skills as an undergraduate student of literature and history, as well as in law school and while clerking for a judge on the Arkansas Supreme Court, and careful attention to negotiation and drafting of legal relationships and documentation. He has also authored articles published in nonlegal media. 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 best position his clients should business disputes arise. Consequently, most of his clients have sought his services and advice for many years.

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 law clerk for the Honorable John Fogleman, Associate Justice on Arkansas Supreme Court, in 1975 and 1976.

Charles has also devoted much time and service to a variety of nonprofit organizations over many years, has traveled extensively throughout the world and is proficient in Italian and French.

Counseled and represented start-up businesses and business owners on 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 his clients’ interests before local governmental entities in connection with permitting, development, infrastructure and abandonment transactions;
Represented both landlords and tenants in a variety of leasing transactions involving single occupant retail, commercial and industrial facilities and multi-tenant office towers, ground leases, retail centers, warehouse and industrial facilities and financing arrangements relating thereto;
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 landowners 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 and governance of condominium and timeshare regimes and management;
Negotiated and documented a variety of oil and gas transactions involving construction, chartering and sale of offshore drilling facilities, acquisition, development and sale of onshore and offshore leases in both federal and state waters and non-conventional energy projects involving wind and solar power production and management.
Participated as an officer and board member of a number of non-profit organizations, including the drafting and revision of organizational and governance documentation, and provided legal advice and assisted in compliance filings over many years, and has supported and been active in fundraising for those organizations as well as his alma mater, Rice University.

Texas Super Lawyers, Internet Brands, 2005-2026
Best Lawyers in America, BL Rankings, 2022-2027

American Bar Association – Real Estate, Probate and Trust Sections.
Houston Bar Association – Real Estate and Oil, Gas and Mineral Law Sections.
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, organizer and 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