Aedamar Comiskey

Aedamar was elected Linklaters’ Senior Partner and Chair in May 2021 and is the first female Senior Partner in the Firm’s 183 year history. In the five years leading up to May 2021, Aedamar was the Global Head of Corporate, responsible for managing the Firm’s corporate practice around the world. She currently chairs the Partnership Board and, before that, was a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee for five years.

Aedamar is recognised as a leading public and private M&A lawyer; advising on some of the most significant and transformational deals in the market. She leads the Firm’s relationships with many FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 clients for whom she is a trusted board adviser.

Colleagues and clients alike admire Aedamar’s dynamism and ability to solve complex issues with good-humoured candour. Clients say "She is excellent in the quality of counsel she provides in a number of areas. She's commercial and savvy."

Aedamar is passionate about diversity and wants Linklaters to stand out as the law firm with the best minds in the business from truly diverse backgrounds, contributing different perspectives to solve the complex challenges facing business and society today. She is an active sponsor of Linklaters’ Women’s Leadership Programme and recognised by Financial News as one of the Fifty Most Influential Lawyers 2023 and amongst Europe’s Most Influential Female Lawyers 2023, City A.M.’s Power 100 Women List and as a Leading M&A lawyer in The Lawyer magazine Hot 100 ranking.

Aedamar is the Senior Independent Director of FTSE company James Fisher and Sons plc and chairs its remuneration committee. She is a member of the Shanghai International Financial Advisory Council (SIFAC).

Work highlights

High-profile deals which Aedamar has led include:

• G4S on the recommended £3.8bn cash offer by Allied Universal and its defence of the hostile £3.68bn cash offer by Garda World. This was one of the top ten largest deals in the UK in 2020.

• HSBC on the US$5.2bn sale of its Brazilian business to Banco Bradesco, the largest financial services deal in South America to date.

• Capita on its £701m Rights Issue.

• Amec Foster Wheeler on its recommended £2.3bn takeover by John Wood Group.

• Unilever on its defence of the US$145bn approach by the Kraft Heinz Company, which would have been one of the largest deals in history.

• Visa Europe on its €18.4bn sale to Visa Inc.

• Dixons on its £4bn merger with Carphone Warehouse.

• Amlin on the £3.48bn recommended offer by Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance.

Before joining the firm’s Executive Committee, I was a member of the firm’s Partnership Board, the governance body of the firm. I previously sat on the firm’s Partnership Election Committee for four years and was global co-head of Linklaters’ retail sector group for three years.

Diverse leadership in the legal sector is an area I am passionate about and have been an active sponsor of the Linklaters Women’s Leadership Programme. I have also previously been included in City A.M’s Power 100 Women List, Financial News’ list of Europe’s 20 Most Influential Leaders in Legal Services 2021 and recognised as a leading M&A lawyer in The Lawyer magazine Hot 100 ranking.

I am a Senior Independent Director of FTSE company James Fisher and Sons plc and sit on its audit, remuneration and nominations committees.

Aedamar studied law at University College, Dublin.