ATTORNEY ADVERTISING NOTICE. This San Antonio real estate attorney profile was researched and written independently by Awesome Attorneys’ editorial team. It was not paid for, commissioned, or reviewed prior to publication by the firm profiled. All outcomes, credentials, and recognitions described below are attributed to their sources. Past results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future matter. This article is for general information only and is not legal advice; reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship.

A San Antonio Real Estate Attorney Who Negotiates Directly With Zoning and Planning Commissions

Inside Patel | Gaines, the San Antonio commercial real estate and litigation firm co-founded by Grant M. Gaines, a native San Antonian whose practice bridges real estate transactions, construction litigation, and direct negotiation with municipal governmental bodies.

BY THE AWESOME ATTORNEYS EDITORIAL TEAM · SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS · AUGUST 2026

PATEL | GAINES ATTORNEYS AT LAW — AT A GLANCE

Sources: patelgaines.com (firm website), Super Lawyers, Avvo, State Bar of Texas Find a Lawyer directory. Compiled August 2026.

ORIGIN

A Native San Antonian’s Path From Real Estate Transactions to Litigation

Grant Michael Gaines was born and raised in San Antonio and attended the University of Texas at San Antonio, majoring in marketing, before earning his J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law, graduating in the top 12% of his class. Gaines began his legal career focused on commercial and real estate law specifically, later transitioning into litigation while retaining his real estate and municipal-negotiation practice. As Managing Partner and co-founder of Patel | Gaines, he now oversees the firm’s commercial litigation matters while serving as lead counsel on trials.

THE MODEL

A Two-City Firm Combining Real Estate and Litigation

Patel | Gaines operates from a San Antonio office, with an additional Fort Worth location. Co-founded by Gaines and Rahul B. Patel, the firm’s own materials describe its focus as commercial and civil litigation, commercial real estate, and corporate and business law, with a client-centered approach the firm describes as tracking every matter closely rather than leaving clients uninformed during litigation.

PRACTICE

Where This San Antonio Real Estate Attorney Concentrates

Gaines’s real estate practice spans commercial real estate transactions, eminent domain and condemnation and inverse condemnation matters, buyer-seller lending representation, foreclosure, financing counsel, purchase and sale agreements, and title document review. He has also negotiated and mediated directly with governmental bodies including city and county commissions, zoning commissions, planning commissions, and water utilities — a municipal-relations skill set distinct from courtroom litigation alone. His litigation docket includes named real estate and construction-related matters such as Hayes v. Pauli, Knighthawk, LLC v. B&P Development, LLC, and Bowman v. Kisan, LLC.

TRACK RECORD

What Can — and Cannot — Be Verified

Awesome Attorneys did not have access to an itemized results table with specific verdict or settlement figures for Gaines’s litigation matters, though the named cases above are independently identifiable through public case-law and docket sources rather than firm marketing claims alone.

CLIENT VOICE

A Perfect but Thin Review Record

Gaines holds a 5.0 “Superb” rating on Avvo across 2 client reviews, with one reviewer describing him as someone who “gets results” and consistently has his clients’ best interests at heart. A separate Yelp review specifically credited Gaines and his team with taking on a matter after other firms demanded a $10,000 to $15,000 retainer upfront. The overall review volume is genuinely thin, and Awesome Attorneys discloses that directly rather than overstating what two reviews establish. Avvo separately confirms “no misconduct found” for Gaines.

BEYOND THE PRACTICE

Municipal and Community Recognition

Gaines’s inclusion on the San Antonio Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” list reflects broader community and business-community recognition beyond legal peer awards specifically. Awesome Attorneys also located a “Top 100 Lawyers in America” claim in Gaines’s marketing materials; because this designation’s selection criteria could not be independently verified in the course of this research, it is noted here without further characterization rather than treated as equivalent to the peer-reviewed Super Lawyers and Scene in S.A. recognitions listed above.

RECOGNITION

Peer Recognition Without TBLS Certification

Gaines has been named a Super Lawyer, a Scene in S.A. “Best S.A. Lawyer” (2016) and Rising Star (2012, 2018) — peer-nomination processes distinct from pay-to-play marketing programs. Awesome Attorneys did not find a Texas Board of Legal Specialization certification on record for Gaines. Consistent with this publication’s standing policy, the words “specialist” and “board certified” are not applied to his practice on that basis.

THE TEXAS REAL ESTATE LEGAL BACKDROP

What San Antonio Property Owners and Businesses Should Know

Texas commercial real estate transactions and disputes are governed primarily by the Texas Property Code, while eminent domain and condemnation proceedings follow a separate framework under Texas Property Code Chapter 21, giving property owners specific procedural rights when government entities seek to acquire private property. Municipal zoning and land-use decisions are governed at the local level, which is where Gaines’s direct negotiation experience with planning and zoning commissions applies. None of this is legal advice; commercial real estate and eminent domain matters are consequential and fact-specific enough to warrant review by a licensed attorney.

AWESOME ATTORNEYS ASSESSMENT

A San Antonio Real Estate Attorney With Genuine Municipal Negotiation Experience

Grant Gaines’s clearest strength is a combination of real estate transactional depth with direct experience negotiating against and with municipal governmental bodies — zoning, planning, and water utility commissions specifically — a skill set distinct from general real estate litigation. The honest limitation is a thin public review record and the absence of independently verified TBLS board certification, along with an unverifiable “Top 100” marketing claim this profile did not treat as equivalent to peer-reviewed recognition. Readers can compare this firm against other San Antonio attorneys in the Awesome Attorneys directory.

This is a firm best suited to clients with commercial real estate matters that may require direct negotiation with local government bodies, or construction and real estate litigation specifically, given Gaines’s demonstrated experience in both.

METHODOLOGY & SOURCING

This San Antonio real estate attorney profile draws on the firm’s own website (patelgaines.com), Grant Gaines’s Super Lawyers listing, his Avvo profile and reviews, and his official State Bar of Texas practitioner listing as of August 2026. Awesome Attorneys did not have access to an itemized case-results table. Client reviews quoted or summarized reflect individual client experiences, not verified case outcomes.

PUBLISHER DISCLOSURE & INDEPENDENCE

Awesome Attorneys is an independent legal directory and editorial publication. This profile was not paid for, commissioned, or reviewed by Patel | Gaines prior to publication, and its inclusion here does not constitute an endorsement. Awesome Attorneys may in the future offer sponsored placements to firms profiled in its directory; sponsorship does not alter the editorial content of an existing profile.