Goodwin Picks Up N.Y. M&A Partner Masella as Deals Work Grows

New York deals lawyer Robert Masella has joined Goodwin Procter as the law firm looks to build out its bustling mergers and acquisitions practice, particularly in tech and life sciences.

Goodwin advised on more than 500 M&A deals last year, according to Bloomberg’s league tables. That was good for fourth-most among law firms, trailing Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins and DLA Piper.

Deals work has been increasingly lucrative for major firms, as traditional M&A, initial public offering and special purpose acquisition company activity hit new heights in 2021. Uncertainty posed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other market factors has raised questions about whether dealmakers will see as much demand this year.

Goodwin’s focus on technology, private equity and life sciences boosted its work last year, according to Stuart Cable, global chair of the firm’s M&A practice.

“Our public M&A franchise continues to excel—particularly within our life sciences, healthcare, technology, real estate and private industry verticals—with marquee multibillion-dollar transactions such as MyoKardia, Citrix, Mimecast, Trillium and Retail Properties of America,” Cable said.

Goodwin has hundreds of M&A lawyers organized in four industry verticals, including life sciences, to handle deals in those sectors, Cable told Bloomberg Law.

Among the mega-dollar transactions: Citrix Systems’ $16.5 billion pending sale to affiliates of Vista Equity Partners and Evergreen Coast Capital; Mimecast’s $5.8 billion pending sale to funds advised by Permira; and MyoKardia’s $13.1 billion sale to Bristol Myers Squibb.

Masella joins from Shearman & Sterling, where he was a partner. He previously served as managing director of the M&A Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and earlier was a lawyer with Cravath, Swaine & Moore, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Masella has experience in U.S. and cross-border public and private M&A transactions and in corporate governance matters. He also regularly represents investment banks in financial advisory assignments.

Goodwin’s gross revenue jumped to $1.97 billion last year, a 30% increase from 2020, according to data compiled by the American Lawyer.