Mackenzie A. Zales

Mackenzie Zales is an attorney in Holland & Knight's Washington, D.C., office and a member of the Public Policy & Regulation Group's Energy Technology Team. Ms. Zales focuses her practice on government financing opportunities and compliance for energy and critical minerals companies.

Ms. Zales helps clients navigate federal funding and compliance with clarity and momentum so they can secure U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) support, stay aligned with award requirements and advance project development. Clients value her ability to efficiently move matters forward while spotting issues early, reducing friction with agency processes and preserving space for innovation.

As a member of the Energy Technology Team, Ms. Zales is part of a multidisciplinary group that supports energy, industrial and critical minerals clients across the full federal funding and financing life cycle – from early strategy and agency engagement through proposal development, negotiations, compliance and, when needed, dispute resolution. The team pairs deep program fluency with Holland & Knight's broader bench of project finance, energy regulatory, environmental, tax and litigation capabilities, bringing an integrated approach to high-stakes, capital-intensive projects. Together, the team has helped clients secure billions of dollars in federal support in recent years and is regularly trusted to guide complex DOE processes from first positioning to final execution.

Ms. Zales works with energy clients to turn DOE funding opportunities into executed awards – and executed awards into compliant, high-performing projects. Her practice is focused on energy technologies, critical minerals and the battery supply chain. As a member of the Energy Technology Team, Ms. Zales has helped clients negotiate and secure hundreds of millions of dollars in grants from the DOE to onshore their manufacturing and production facilities in the U.S.

A significant part of Ms. Zales' practice is guiding clients through the full arc of federal awards – from negotiation of grant terms to building durable compliance mechanisms once an award is in place. She helps companies structure internal systems that support reporting, documentation and oversight, as well as troubleshoot compliance questions as they arise and work through remediation when issues surface.

Ms. Zales' experience spans multiple DOE offices and other federal and state agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). She also brings extensive international trade experience, advising on international regulatory and compliance matters and a range of cross-border corporate issues, including foreign direct investment, industrial security, export controls, sanctions and customs. This combination is particularly valuable for clients operating in globally integrated supply chains – especially in critical minerals and advanced manufacturing – where funding strategy and trade compliance often intersect.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Zales served as a judicial intern to the Honorable Jennifer Choe-Groves at the U.S. Court of International Trade, where she assisted in civil actions concerning determinations by the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. International Trade Commission.