Barclays has appointed Gibson Dunn & Crutcher financial institutions group co-chair Mark Shelton as general counsel for its investment banking division.

Shelton, who worked at UBS for more than 10 years before going into private practice, will also serve as GC for the Americas region in a newly combined role after former Americas GC Mike Crowl left the bank last year.

Shelton takes over the investment banking GC remit from Judith Shepherd – also formerly of Gibson Dunn – who announced she was stepping down last month.

"The decision to combine the global investment bank GC role with the Americas GC post is driven by the substantial business overlap and the significant work that needs to be undertaken as a result of structural reform both in the US and elsewhere," an internal memo sent to Barclays staff today reads.

Shelton, who will report to Barclays group general counsel Bob Hoyt, will join the bank's senior leadership group, the investment bank executive committee, the Americas executive committee and the legal executive committee. He will take up his new role on 9 March.

Before joining UBS, Shelton was a partner in the securities group at Wilmer Cutler & Pickering in Washington DC, before which he worked in the office of the general counsel at the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Forrmer US Treasury GC Hoyt was brought in as the new head of the bank's legal team in 2013, with City banking partners pointing to a need for banks to respond to a new regulatory environment being led by the US in the wake of the global financial crisis.