Halley I. Townsend
Associate
Overview
Halley Townsend is an attorney in Holland & Knight's Washington, D.C., office and a member of the firm's Public Policy & Regulation Group. As a member of the regulatory, Greenwashing Mitigation, Environmental and Clean Technology teams, Ms. Townsend focuses her practice on a wide variety of energy and environmental regulatory matters.
Ms. Townsend counsels clients trading in derivatives, primarily in energy and environmental markets, on compliance with derivatives-related regulatory requirements, including those imposed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). She assists clients with CFTC and National Futures Association (NFA) registration, compliance and training programs, regulatory investigations and enforcement actions.
In addition, Ms. Townsend works with clean technology and renewable energy clients to pursue federal funding programs at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). She guides clients that have been selected for grant award negotiations through the execution of their award and accompanying regulatory obligations.
As a member of the Environmental Team, Ms. Townsend focuses her practice on a wide variety of environmental regulatory, enforcement, litigation, legislation and transactional matters. She provides strategic legal advice to clients that are developing innovative technologies and sustainable practices that reduce emissions and increase use of renewable energy. She also advises clients regarding compliance programs that cover U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal and state regulations, including the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) under the Clean Air Act and multiple state low-carbon fuel standards and cap‑and‑trade programs.
Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Townsend was an attorney at a global law firm in its Washington, D.C., office.
Representative Experience
- Assisted a manufacturing company in applying for a $60 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing Program for retrofit of an existing facility to build an advanced silicon anode material factory for electric vehicle applications and advised company regarding negotiation of award with DOE
- Advised a company regarding potential applicability of several state Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws and regulations
- Provided Greenwashing 101 training to a consumer products manufacturer
- Tracked and synthesized issues related to litigation impacting the renewable fuel industry
- Provided advice to a global financial trading firm regarding its compliance and reporting program for the environmental products that it trades in at least 10 jurisdictions (state and federal), as well as at least 10 jurisdictions the firm is considering entering
- Assisted clients registering as introducing brokers, commodity trading advisors and commodity pool operators with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and National Futures Association (NFA), as well as creating and improving related compliance manuals and programs
- Provided CFTC compliance trainings to multiple trading firms
Credentials
- Washington and Lee University School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude
- University of Virginia, B.A., English Language and Literature; Minor in Foreign Affairs
- District of Columbia
- Maryland