Stryker Corp. announced that its current chief legal officer will be stepping down in April and the worldwide vice president of litigation at Johnson & Johnson will be taking over.

Rob Fletcher will begin his role as vice president and chief legal officer at Stryker on April 22.

“Rob Fletcher has a strong track record of results in our industry and deep leadership experience managing complex, global business issues,” Stryker chairman and CEO Kevin Lobo said in a statement emailed to Corporate Counsel. “His rich and varied experience and leadership skills will support our future growth and success.”

A spokesperson for Stryker said Fletcher was not available for an interview.

Fletcher has spent most of his career in-house. He most recently served as the vice president of global litigation at Johnson & Johnson and has also served as general counsel to the company's pharmaceutical and medical device groups. He started at Johnson & Johnson in 2004 as assistant general counsel.

A spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson said in an email to Corporate Counsel that the company thanked Fletcher for his contributions and commitment to Johnson & Johnson over the last 15 years.

Fletcher has also worked in-house at DePuy Synthes, Ethicon Endo-Surgery and General Electric Co. After graduating from Boston College Law School in 1996, he went on to work as an associate at Katz Teller in Cincinnati until 2000.

It is not clear if the increasing amount of litigation against Johnson & Johnson is connected to Fletcher leaving his role at the company. Plaintiffs have taken Johnson & Johnson to court around the country claiming its talc-based baby powder causes ovarian cancer. On March 27, a jury in state court in New Jersey rendered a defense verdict in a case where a man claimed he developed mesothelioma from using the company's powder.

Fletcher replaces the current vice president and chief legal officer Mike Hutchinson. According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Hutchinson will transition from being the company's top lawyer to working as an adviser to the CEO until May 2020. According to the filing, Hutchinson will continue to receive his base salary, and in lieu of a 2020 incentive award he will receive a retention payment of $170,312.50.

“We would like to thank Mike for the many contributions he has made to the company and for his demonstrated commitment to our cusses and robust growth,” Lobo said in the press release. “Mike has strengthened our global legal and compliance capabilities and guided our company through many complex matters. I wish Mike the best in this new chapter of his career.”

Stryker is a medical technology company that offers products and services in the orthopedic, medical and surgical, and neurotechnology and spinal fields.