Former U.S. Department of State official Ambassador Nathan Sales has joined Holland & Knight as a partner in its Public Policy & Regulation Group, as well as National Security & Defense Industry Group.
Ambassador Sales held a variety of senior leadership roles at the State Department during the first Trump Administration. He served as the acting Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights. Concurrently, he was the Ambassador-at-Large and Coordinator for Counterterrorism, serving as the principal adviser to the Secretary of State on international counterterrorism matters and leading the State Department's Counterterrorism Bureau. He also was the Special Presidential Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, leading U.S. relations with the 83-member Coalition and efforts to ensure the lasting defeat of ISIS in the Middle East and around the world.
Ambassador Sales's government experience also includes senior roles at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where he led policy initiatives on border security and visa programs, and at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he developed and implemented national security initiatives and worked on federal judicial appointments.
Nathan is an extremely well-connected and seasoned lawyer with impeccable national security credentials, said Jason Klitenic, chair of Holland & Knight's National Security & Defense Industry Group. Having worked with Nathan during the Bush and Trump Administrations, I've seen firsthand the insight he brings to the most sensitive matters. His international experience will be of immediate benefit to our cornerstone defense clients with global operations.
Nathan's extensive capabilities and connections to the current Trump Administration will be integral to a wide variety of the Firm's lobbying and government contract clients, said Rich Gold, leader of Holland & Knight's Public Policy & Regulation Group. His wide-ranging contacts in foreign governments will be especially helpful with the Firm's trade and tariff policy engagements and U.S. consular matters around the world.
Immediately prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ambassador Sales was the founder and principal of Fillmore Global Strategies LLC, where he provided clients in the U.S. and abroad with legal and strategic advice on a range of national security and international issues.
The growth of my practice during the second Trump Administration, as well as the diverse needs of my clientele, prompted me to look for a broader platform, Ambassador Sales said. Holland & Knight's longstanding focus on national security and defense, as well as its standout government relations, trade and immigration practices, are the perfect complement to my services. I look forward to using my government experience and global connections to ensure that our clients' concerns are heard at the highest levels of the U.S. and foreign governments.
Ambassador Sales is a Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council. He earned his J.D. degree from Duke University School of Law and his B.A. degree from Miami University. After law school, he clerked for the Honorable David B. Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
This news story was originally published on the firm’s website.