AbbVie Inc. announced Monday that its longtime law department leader Laura Schumacher will retire after more than three decades at the company and its predecessor Abbott Laboratories.

Perry Siatis, a deputy general counsel at AbbVie, will succeed Schumacher as general counsel and corporate secretary following a transition period at the biopharmaceutical company. AbbVie was spun-off a decade ago from Abbott, a suburban Chicago-based medical device and health care giant.

“It is difficult to overstate the extraordinary impact Laura has had on AbbVie over the past 10 years,” said Richard Gonzalez, chairman and chief executive of the company, in a statement. “Although she is clearly one of the finest legal minds in the industry and has spearheaded a number of complex legal and regulatory issues for us, her contributions to AbbVie go far beyond the legal department.”

During her time at AbbVie, Schumacher was at the forefront of reinventing the relationship between companies and their outside counsel, including as it pertains to diversity goals for law firms. The American Bar Association in August awarded her efforts to increase diversity at AbbVie and the legal profession.

Schumacher didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about her retirement plans. Siatis also didn’t respond to a comment request.

Gonzalez called Siatis the “optimal choice to build on Laura’s successes.” Siatis has held several key roles in AbbVie’s legal group, including leading its ethics and compliance programs, as well as strategic initiatives like mergers and acquisitions, litigation, licensing, and intellectual property, Gonzalez said.

Schumacher, who began her career as an associate at what is now ArentFox Schiff, spent more than two decades at Abbott. She was named head of legal in 2005, a role that saw her oversee a roughly 500-employee department. Schumacher became AbbVie’s general counsel after its split from Abbott.

AbbVie promoted her in 2018 to vice chairman of external affairs and chief legal officer. Schumacher retained both positions two years later after the company completed its $63 billion merger with Allergan PLC, a maker of drugs like Botox. In July, AbbVie’s Allergan reached a $2 billion settlement over its marketing of opioids.

Laura Schumacher

Image courtesy of AbbVie, Inc.

Shortly before the Allergan deal closed, Siatis, AbbVie’s newly named legal chief, was appointed senior vice president of legal, a job that gave him oversight for transactions, alliance management, and research and development at the company.

AbbVie said that Siatis, who joined predecessor Abbott in 2005 after working at DLA Piper, has over the years “developed and implemented the litigation, intellectual property, and legal strategy” for several key company products, while also advising on “significant transactions.” His compensation wasn’t immediately available.

Schumacher, his predecessor in AbbVie’s top legal role, has long been one of the most well-compensated legal chiefs among publicly traded US companies. She received more than $12.4 million in total compensation during fiscal 2021, per a proxy statement filed by AbbVie earlier this year.

AbbVie in its proxy touted Schumacher’s role in achieving “proprietary pharmaceutical pipeline enhancement objectives,” supporting research and development initiatives, and effectively resolving key litigation matters as a justification for her pay package.

She currently owns more than $35 million in AbbVie stock, according to Bloomberg data. Securities filings also show that Schumacher sold off almost $23.7 million in company shares last year.