Ambassador Nathan Sales

Ambassador Nathan Sales is an attorney in Holland & Knight's Washington, D.C., office and a member of the Public Policy & Regulation Group.

Ambassador Sales draws on decades of experience operating at the intersection of law, public policy, and diplomacy to solve complex problems for his clients. Having served at the highest levels of the U.S. government, he brings an insider's understanding of how legal frameworks, regulatory processes, and foreign policy objectives converge to affect companies' bottom lines. He puts this distinctive background to work to help clients overcome their most difficult legal and strategic challenges, delivering practical and meaningful results.

Clients turn to Ambassador Sales to navigate their obligations under U.S. and international sanctions laws and to develop mitigation measures that reduce sanctions risk. He guides companies through the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review process to secure approval for cross-border transactions, and helps them gain access to foreign markets, drawing on an extensive network of senior government leaders in the U.S. and around the globe. He also advises companies on government contracting issues in the defense and national security sectors.

In addition, Ambassador Sales provides strategic counsel on U.S. immigration matters, crisis response planning to address risks arising in overseas operations, and advice on national security and geopolitical threats facing global companies and trade associations.

Ambassador Sales previously held a number of senior positions at the U.S. Department of State. He was the acting Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, leading nine bureaus and offices with 1,300 employees and a combined foreign assistance budget of more than $5 billion annually. Nominated by the president and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he served concurrently as the Ambassador-at-Large and Coordinator for Counterterrorism – the principal adviser to the Secretary of State on international counterterrorism matters and head of 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 includes the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy he led efforts on border security and visa programs. As senior counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice, he developed and implemented national security initiatives, including the USA PATRIOT Act and U.S. Attorney General's investigative guidelines, and worked on federal judicial appointments.

Before 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. He previously was a tenured law professor, teaching and writing in the fields of national security law, administrative law, and constitutional law. His scholarship has been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court multiple times.

While in law school, Ambassador Sales was the research editor of the Duke Law Journal. Following graduation, he clerked for the Honorable David B. Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Ambassador Sales is a Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council and a frequent commentator on national security and geopolitical issues. He is regularly featured in national and international media, including the BBC, CNN, Fox News, The New York Times, NewsNation, Politico, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. He holds an active Top Secret level security clearance.