Articles
Partner Melissa Raciti-Knapp reflects on how her Dominican heritage and Spanish fluency became a professional strength, shaping her career in …
October 21, 2026
October 21, 2026 • 1-minute read
Melissa Raciti-Knapp
Partner
Finance
“Melissa is a very effective team leader, an extremely competent attorney and a very savvy negotiator.” – Chambers USA, 2025
Overview
Melissa is a project finance attorney who focuses on large energy and infrastructure projects. She advises commercial banks, export credit agencies, multilaterals and other financial institutions as well as borrowers and developers on a wide variety of project development and financing work. Her industry experience covers power (both conventional and renewable), mining, oil and gas, water treatment, telecoms and other infrastructure, including a wide variety of transactions relating to energy transition.
Melissa brings extensive experience across the United States and Latin America, where her language skills and talent for navigating cultural nuances are especially valuable. Working closely with local counsel, she and her team regularly negotiate and prepare documents in Spanish.
Mesabi Metallics on the development and financing of an approximately $18 billion greenfield electric-arc-furnace steelmaking complex in Iowa that is intended to produce low-emissions steel using recycled steel inputs and domestically sourced iron ore, including a greenfield direct-reduction-grade iron ore mining and pelletizing operation in Nashwauk, Minnesota also owned by Mesabi (ongoing)
Ara Partners on its acquisition of a majority interest in USD Clean Fuels, LLC, a leading developer of logistics infrastructure in North America for the renewable fuels value chain, and the subsequent acquisition by USDCF of the West Colton Rail Terminal, a fully operational biofuels terminal in California
Li-Cycle on a limited recourse financing of a battery recycling project in New York state from the Department of Energy
KfW IPEX-Bank on the $1.2bn limited recourse financing for the construction, startup, operation and maintenance of a world-scale anhydrous ammonia plant in Topolobampo, Mexico
KfW IPEX-Bank on a limited recourse financing for the Hybar project, a steel recycling and rebar project in Arkansas
ContourGlobal on a senior secured term loan and revolving credit facility and related letter of credit facility for the development and operation of its thermal generation portfolio in the Caribbean, including a complementary solar photovoltaic plant and battery storage system
A battery manufacturer in connection with the development of a gigafactory to produce nanotechnology batteries for use in smartphones and electric vehicles in the United States
DFC on the financing of a geothermal project in Honduras, the first utility scale project in the country
Credentials
Education
- Columbia University School of Law, J.D., 1993 (Columbia Law Review, senior editor)
- Columbia University, B.A. in Political Science and Government, magna cum laude, 1990
Admissions
- New York
Recognitions
- Chambers USA, Projects (Nationwide), 2008–2026
- Chambers Global, Project Finance (Latin America – International Counsel), 2021–2026; Projects (USA), 2008–2026; Projects (USA), “Foreign Expert,” 2026
- Chambers Latin America, Project Finance (International Counsel), 2020–2025, 2027
- Named to Latinvex’s Latin America Top 100 Lawyers, 2026
- Named to Latinvex’s Latin America Top 100 Female Lawyers, 2018–2025
- IFLR1000, Highly Regarded, Women Leaders, 2020–present
- Selected to the 500 Leading Lawyers in America, Lawdragon, 2025–2026
- Selected to the 500 Leading Dealmakers in America, Lawdragon, 2025
Insights
