James Childs

James is a Shareholder in Maynard's Corporate & Securities practice group. He serves as Chair of Maynard Venture Partners (the Firm's Venture Capital and Emerging Growth practice) and Co-Chair of the Firm's Private Equity practice.

While James has worked with a broad range of clients operating in numerous industries, he focuses his practice in three primary areas - M&A, equity investments, and emerging growth companies. Specifically, he represents a high volume of private equity, venture capital, and other investment funds, strategic acquirers, and high-growth companies. Focusing his practice in these areas allows him to gain in-depth knowledge and insight into his clients' businesses and the industries in which they operate. This approach provides James with up-to-date knowledge of current M&A and investment deal terms and trends, as well as the ability to make connections and bring strategic value to his clients. James has consistently been recognized for his legal acumen in these areas by Chambers USA and The Best Lawyers in America©. Best Lawyers® recognized James as "Lawyer of the Year" in the region in 2021 and 2020 for his work in Venture Capital Law.

Outside of his work with Maynard, James operated an accelerator that he founded in 2004 that equipped CEOs to lead their operating companies to the next level. James also leads or serves on the boards of directors of several organizations, including those focused on cultivating innovation economies and entrepreneurial ecosystems. He is President of the Birmingham Venture Club, Co-Founder and past Chairman of TechBirmingham, and past Chairman of Innovation Depot. He currently serves on the boards of the foregoing institutions, as well as BioAlabama. James has also led key innovation and investment initiatives for the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

“He has a strong reputation in tech startups.”

“James is the best transaction attorney in our market, period.”

“He’s very knowledgeable and resourceful and brings the right people to solve legal issues.”

"He is an excellent M&A attorney with lots of experience."

"In addition to having a deep understanding of the law, James also understands the business implications and approaches each issue with that view."

Equity Investments

Represented Franklin Templeton (San Mateo, CA) and its related venture capital funds Franklin Blackhorse, L.P. and Franklin Talos, L.P., its mutual funds, and its corporate affiliates in connection with more than 30 venture capital investments ranging from start-ups to late stage, pre-IPO companies, including as lead or co-lead investors in connection with:

• The $250 million Series E financing of Gong.io Ltd., an Israeli based provider of AI driven revenue intelligence solutions
• The $1 billion Series E financing of Celonis SE, a provider of process mining and execution management solutions based in Munich, Germany
• The $1 billion Series G financing of Databricks, Inc., a provider of unified data analytics and data science and AI/machine learning platforms based on San Francisco, CA
• The $100 million Series D financing of Newsela, a leading K-12 instructional content platform with 37 million registered students and 2.5 million registered teachers in 90% of all U.S. schools
• The $40 million Series A financing, $50 million Series B financing, and $60 million Series C financing of Spoton Transact, Inc., a provider of payment processing solutions
• The $175 million Series E financing of Hashicorp, Inc., a provider of cloud infrastructure automation solutions for operations, security, networking and application delivery
• The $100 million Series F financing of Rent the Runway, Inc., a subscription fashion service
• The $128 million Series D financing of Wheels Up Partners Holdings, LLC, a private aviation company
• The $31 million Series B financing of Voyage Auto, Inc., an autonomous vehicle driving service
• The $21 million Series A financing of Alto Solutions, Inc., a self-directed IRA platform for individuals to access and invest in alternative assets using their retirement funds
• The $22.5 million Series B financing of CelLink, a provider of flexible circuitry to the automotive and other industries
• The $115 million Series D financing of ClearMotion, a provider of a proactive rider/active suspension system for the automotive industry

Represented Help Lightening, Inc., a provider of virtual expertise software for enterprises to improve the productivity of their field service and call center organizations, in connection with its $11 million Series A Preferred Stock financing by Resolve Growth Partners (Baltimore, MD) and L&T International FZE.

Represented CirculoGene Theranostics, Inc., a provider of a liquid biopsy cancer diagnostics, in connection with $35 million of Series A, Series B, Series C and convertible note financings.

Represented 1 Vision Media, LLC, a provider of dual screen displays, associated hardware, engagement solutions, and packaged content for live event advertising and entertainment for high schools and community events, in connection with its Series A financing by 7/6 Partnership.

Represented Atlas RFID, LLC, a provider of a SaaS solutions and services to the construction industry, in connection with its $10 million financing by Kayne Partners.

Represented Medispend, a provider of Sunshine Act and other compliance and collaboration software solutions for pharmaceutical and medical device companies, in connection with its Series A and Series B rounds of financing by EDG Partners.

Represented DAXKO, Inc., a provider of SaaS software and solutions to member based companies and organizations, in connection with its $9 million Series A and Series B financings by Frontier Capital.

Represented Murphree Venture Partners in connection with its Series B financing of Aldis, Inc., an Oak Ridge, TN-based company that provides traffic and energy management technology and related services; and its $15 million financing of Intrinergy, Inc., a provider of gasification technology and solutions based in Richmond, VA.

Represented PetroBeam, Inc., a company developing a proprietary process to utilize electron beams to upgrade heavy oil and refine crude, in connection with its $5 million strategic financing by publicly traded Ion Beam Applications, s.a.(Belgium) and its $3.5 million equity round of funding.

M&A

Represented Daxko, Inc. and its owner, private equity fund GI Partners, in connection with multiple acquisitions, including:

• Motionsoft, a Rockville, MD based provider of member management software
• PlayerSpace, a Wrightsville Beach, NC based provider of sports program management software
• Uplaunch, provider of a CRM and marketing automation software based in Fairfield, PA
• GroupEx PRO, a Denver, CO-based provider of software solutions to fitness instructors
• Club Automation, a Chicago, IL-based provider of member management and payment software solutions
• Affiliated Acceptance Corporation, a St. Louis, MO-based provider of payment processing solutions
• Zen Planner, a Denver, CO-based provider of member management and payment software solutions

Represented My Supply Chain Group, LLC, a provider of supply chain logistics and warehouse management solutions, in connection with its sale to itelligence, an international provider of SAP support solutions and subsidiary of NTT Data.

Represented Avanti Polar Lipids, Inc., the leading provider of high purity lipids used in next generation therapeutics and vaccines and for R&D and drug delivery, in connection with its sale to UK-based Croda International, Plc (LSE: CRDA), a provider of high performance specialty chemicals.

Represented Rural Urgent Care, LLC d/b/a MainStreet Family Care, a multi-location operator of urgent care clinics, and healthcare IT affiliate VirtualCare, LLC, in connection with their sale to private equity fund Trinity Hunt Partners based in Dallas, Texas.

Represented StrategyWise, a provider of AI, machine learning and data science solutions, in connection with its sale to E Source, a provider of data science solutions to the utilities sector based in Boulder, CO that is owned by PE fund Align Capital Partners.

Represented The Collingwood Group, LLC, a Washington DC based advisory firm led by former leaders of FHA, HUD, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, in connection with its sale to Situs Group, a provider of strategic business and technology solutions to the real estate financing sector and portfolio company of PE fund Stone Point Capital.

Represented Deposits Online, LLC, the largest U.S. provider of bank deposit account information to consumers, in connection with its sale to LendingTree (NASDAQ: TREE).

Represented FlexOffers.com, Inc., an operator of a credit card affiliate network based in Miami, FL, in connection with its sale to Bankrate (NYSE: RATE).

Represented Endure Medical, Inc., a provider of innovative surgical microscopes based in Atlanta, GA, in connection with its sale to Alcon Laboratories, Inc., an eye care company and subsidiary of Novartis International AG (NYSE: NVS) based in Dallas, TX.

Represented Ningbo MedicalSystem Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (Shanghai Composite Index) in connection with its acquisition of the cardio metabolic assets, including the VAP cholesterol test, of Atherotech Diagnostics, Inc.

Represented private equity fund Azalea Capital in connection with its leveraged buyout of KLMK Group, a provider of healthcare facility solutions to clients across the nation based in Richmond, VA, and its subsequent sale of KLMK to CBRE (NYSE: CBG).

Represented Gabriella White, LLC, the parent company of Summer Classics, Gabby and Wendy Jane and designer and manufacturer of indoor and outdoor furniture and accessories, in connection with its acquisition of Stanford Furniture Company, a designer and manufacturer of custom furniture based in High Point, NC.

Represented Plantation Patterns, a provider of outdoor soft home products, in connection with its sale to NBG-Home, a portfolio company of Kohlberg & Company, a private equity fund based in New York, NY.

Represented Photonics Innovations, Inc., a provider of lasers and laser materials, in connection with its sale to IPG Photonics, Inc. (NASDAQ: IPGP), a leading provider of high-performance fiber lasers and amplifiers for use in a wide range of markets based in Oxford, MA.

Represented OneDomain, Inc., a provider of media planning, research and business intelligence software to television stations, radio stations and advertising agencies, in connection with its sale to WideOrbit, Inc., a larger provider of similar software solutions based in San Francisco, CA.

Represented MedMined, Inc., a data mining company focused on eliminating staph and other hospital-acquired infections, in connection with its sale to Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) (now CareFusion, Inc. (NYSE: CFN)).

• Alabama Capital Network, Board of Advisors
• Biotechnology Association of Alabama, Executive Committee and Board of Directors
• Birmingham Venture Club, current President and Board of Directors
• Innovation Depot, Past Chairman; current Executive Committee and Board of Directors
• Rotary Club of Birmingham, member
• TechBirmingham, Founder and Past Chairman; current Board of Directors and Executive Committee member