Clifford Chance Partners with a Former Banker

Clifford Chance LLP , a UK-based law firm and one of the largest firms in the world, announced the addition of a former investment banker to their firm. Robert F. Masella, a former mergers-and-acquisitions banker at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, is now the latest partner and member of the global law firm’s M.&A. practice. Masella was a former member of Cravath, Swaine & Moore and spent nearly a decade with the New York-based firm. He studied in the University of Pennsylvania where he earned his law and business degrees. He did his undergraduate work at William & Mary.

In an interview, Masella said that his decision to go back to the practice of law is a natural progression for his career. “The business and legal environments have become complex and intertwined. As I reflected on my practice, I became convinced that the demands of this complex environment required legal advisers who can bring both legal and business perspectives to discussions.”

According to Dealbook, a report from the New York Times, Masella’s move was not new in the legal sector. The reports said that some years ago, there have been several big names who went back to the law firms after working in the glamorous big-bonus world of investment banking. James Sprayregen reunited with the Kirkland & Ellis in December 2008, a few years after working as a Goldman Sachs restructuring banker. In 2007, Harvey R. Miller went back to Weil, Gotshal & Manges and led the firm’s prominent bankruptcy practice, after working as a vice chairman at Greenhill & Company.