Tales of the unexpected
Chair of Linklaters Aedamar Comiskey
Monaghan woman Aedamar Comiskey is senior partner and chair of the 鈥楳agic Circle鈥 firm Linklaters. She speaks to Mary Hallissey about her career, the joys of doing the deal, and dealing with the unexpected.
"Just get on with it. That鈥檚 a pity, but just get on with it!鈥 That was the advice dished out to future lawyer Aedamar Comiskey by her parents whenever things got tough as a child, growing up in a family of four sisters and one brother just outside Monaghan town.
And she has taken that solid parental advice in spades, rising to the very top of her profession as senior partner and chair of the 鈥楳agic Circle鈥 firm Linklaters, leading a legal practice of 5,000 employees worldwide.
Being the fifth child of six made her robust and resilient, Aedamar believes: 鈥淚 had to fight my way, to speak up and get my voice heard,鈥 she says.
Warm and unpretentious, Comiskey was elected Linklaters鈥 senior partner for a five-year term in May 2021. The 185-year-old firm has 30 offices in 20 countries, with a total of 530 partners.
Beneath Comiskey鈥檚 affable and warm exterior, one senses that a steely core, combined with iron self-discipline, have propelled this Irish lawyer to the very top of her game.
A graduate from UCD in 1988, she made a long-term commitment to Linklaters, joining as a trainee in 1992: 鈥淚鈥檝e been at Linklaters a long time, and I really like it,鈥 she says. The diversity of backgrounds and nationalities are what really appeals to her, as well as working with lawyers who didn鈥檛 necessarily follow the traditional route of a university law degree. 鈥淚t felt like an inclusive place from the off, and that really appealed to me.鈥
London calling
London makes her feel unimportant, and that鈥檚 why she likes it: 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter what you do, or how wealthy you are, there鈥檚 always somebody who is doing something more important and more interesting. I like that 鈥 there鈥檚 great freedom in that.鈥
The liberty and cosmopolitanism of London is an enduring appeal, and she believes that her 鈥榓bility to mix鈥 stems from her large Irish family background. 鈥淚鈥檓 very comfortable having to fit in anywhere. I find it interesting 鈥 I like that variety. I guess I鈥檓 very curious 鈥 鈥榥osey鈥, my mother would call me!鈥 she smiles.
She and her husband Mark Lyttle 鈥 a Dublin native, Olympian, and keen Laser sailor out of Dun Laoghaire 鈥 tried out a return to Dublin in the late 1990s. Ultimately, the bigger scale of a global city like London had too
much appeal.
鈥淢y husband wanted to give it a go, and I thought that was fair enough,鈥 Aedamar explains in her City of London office, overlooking the Barbican. 鈥淚 was really happy here, but I felt that it was right to give that a go. I worked in A&L Goodbody for about eight months. Great people, and I still have lots of friends there. I had a great time, but I just missed Linklaters.鈥
Her husband continually sends her photos of properties beside the sea in Dublin, asking what she thinks. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 lovely, love, definitely one for when we retire,鈥 is her response!
The call up
With two older sisters studying medicine, Comiskey initially thought she might follow in their footsteps, but hospital all-nighters held no appeal: 鈥淚 thought, that鈥檚 far too much hard work!鈥 she recalls.
Her parents wisely realised that their children could work things out for themselves: 鈥淢y father was wonderful, because he said: 鈥業t doesn鈥檛 matter what you do in university 鈥 it鈥檚 just a discipline鈥, which is 100% right,鈥 she adds.
鈥淚 was trying to work out what to put on the application form, and I decided to go and see a fortune-teller in Temple Street, in Dublin. She told me I should be a lawyer, and I thought, why not?鈥 she laughs.
Gaily, Aedamar recalls winning a hatful of prizes at UCD law, vying with classmate and current High Court President Mr Justice David Barniville for the gold medals.
She describes her younger self as quite rebellious, but clearly with a strong streak of determination: 鈥淚 was always quite good at studying. I did well in exams. Law was an interesting degree from the point of having to do so few hours. I thought: 鈥楾his is great, 12 hours a week鈥!鈥
Aedamar enjoyed the social side of UCD. She also had time for plenty of waitressing shifts in the 鈥楽low Boat鈥 Chinese restaurant in d鈥橭lier Street: 鈥淚 loved it!鈥 she recalls.
Career opportunities
After graduation, she wanted to go into business and took a job for two years in management consultancy, with Andersen Consulting. The variety of working in different sectors appealed, as did the postings to Belfast and Chicago.
Eventually, Aedamar decided she was stronger at verbal reasoning and decided to go back to law 鈥 albeit she was three years behind her UCD classmates, which drove the decision to try London. She passed the New York Bar exam, but family proximity made London more appealing. Linklaters had a huge variety of trainees, from around 15 different countries: 鈥淚 really liked that,鈥 she reflects.
Aedamar lives in nearby Islington, and cycles to work in under 15 minutes, a convenience she loves. She and her husband Mark have three sons of 20, 17, and 14, and the eldest is now at university. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e good fun, it鈥檚 a very busy house. A little easier now they鈥檙e older. The busiest time was when they were seven, four, and one,鈥 she muses.
Stay free
As well as her parental duties, Aedamar sees her senior partner role as a pastoral one, with a good deal of reflection about what would make the firm even better.
鈥淎s senior partner, you鈥檙e the guardian of the culture. We have values around excellence, integrity, commerciality, and diversity and inclusion 鈥 fostering excellence, but in a way that also enables people to be themselves,鈥 she reflects. 鈥淲e鈥檙e really trying to get the best out of people and support them to perform to the best of their ability. Teamwork is core to the success of our business,鈥 she adds, particularly when helping to put together teams combining people with different strengths.
Aedamar believes that the Irish education system is second to none, and produces very strong graduates, whom she is always glad to see coming to London. 鈥淲e are always delighted to get Irish grads 鈥 they do very well. Some of them stay and some go back, but it creates a strong network,鈥 she adds, with work referred over and back 鈥榓cross the water鈥.
Cool under heat
As a leading corporate mergers-and-acquisitions (M&A) expert, Aedamar is clearly in that cohort that combines IQ and emotional intelligence. Prior to the senior partner job, she was global head of corporate for the entire firm, leading 2,000 people for almost six years, and she did a lot of travel. She does even more travelling now as senior partner and is on the road every two weeks.
鈥淚 also try and spend 50% of my time with clients, talking to them and getting their feed-back on how the firm is doing. Relationship-building 鈥 I鈥檝e always loved that side of the job, and I have always been very client-orientated. I don鈥檛 do the deals anymore, but I try and see the same number of clients, because I really like that aspect of the job,鈥 she says.
Does she miss the deals? 鈥淥f course! The adrenaline of landing a big deal 鈥 it鈥檚 hard to beat.鈥
If she wants to find something out, she doesn鈥檛 look it up online 鈥 instead, she asks someone. Such an outward orientation has helped her in M&A deal-making.
鈥淎 lot of it is working out what it is that both sides are trying to achieve, and then what is needed to get that done. It often doesn鈥檛 need to be contentious or hostile. It鈥檚 people trying to get to an agreed position on buying or selling something. And I always enjoy that side of it: I love the negotiation, the tactics of getting stuff done. That interests me more than black-letter law. I always say, a lot of it is common sense, especially in M&A deals.鈥
There鈥檚 that emotional intelligence again.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I like being a lawyer,鈥 she laughs. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e often trying to look for a compromise, to get to the end game. I find in the deals that I鈥檝e done over the years, there are points that really matter to people and points that matter less. The key is to work that out to the satisfaction of both sides, and not to get bogged down in the small stuff,鈥 she comments.
She cites experience as being a major factor in M&A: 鈥淵ou get a lot smarter about how to get things done 鈥 and how not to get bogged down or hit roadblocks late in the deal, because nobody likes that. You learn to address the big things upfront. That foresight comes with experience, with knowing the things to talk about at the outset. It鈥檚 very transactional, but I like that,鈥 she says.
Should I stay or should I go?
On Brexit, she believes that things are now moving in a better and more collaborative direction: 鈥淭he idea of being adversarial about it makes no sense at all 鈥 Europe needs to all work together.鈥
She also believes that New York is still quieter than it was pre-virus, while London is now coming back well: 鈥淭he City is busier than it was,鈥 she says.
Post-pandemic, there is a need to embrace flexibility, she accepts: 鈥淚n my mind, there is no doubt that people work very hard at home. For me, it鈥檚 all about the culture and the glue, and for me, it鈥檚 hard to have the same collaborative culture if people don鈥檛 spend some time, face to face.鈥
Face-time builds rapport and bonds of trust, and makes it easier to extend the benefit of the doubt when things go wrong, she believes.
鈥淲hat makes Linklaters the firm that I鈥檝e always loved is that people do really like each other and enjoy working together,鈥 she adds. 鈥淚t鈥檚 good if people are in the office three days a week to build that glue,鈥 she says, while focused work can easily be done at home.
鈥淎 lot of what we do is in a team, and to get that flow of information and diversity of thinking. That鈥檚 the bit you miss out on if people aren鈥檛 around. The real gems are often when you talk about things you weren鈥檛 planning to talk about,鈥 she adds.
Train in vain
Great ideas don鈥檛 necessarily come from planned interactions so much as casual encounters, she believes. 鈥淎s much as we tried to recreate the same experience during lockdown, it鈥檚 hard,鈥 she concedes. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so difficult to recreate on-the-job training 鈥 that learning by osmosis you get in the office.鈥
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 sense people鈥檚 irritation on Zoom calls,鈥 she notes, 鈥渁nd client concerns are better understood in the moment, rather than conveyed afterwards.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an important skill trainees and all young lawyers need to learn 鈥 to deal with the unexpected client calls. Often when a crisis hits and clients need you most, it鈥檚 something nobody was expecting. How are they going to learn how to deal with that, and inspire confidence somehow? It鈥檚 very hard to learn how to deal with people when you鈥檙e sitting on your own,鈥 she adds.
鈥淐oping with the unexpected is all about building experience,鈥 she concludes. 鈥淵ou get through it and life goes on. Things don鈥檛 go to plan, and you must deal with it in the moment. Everybody鈥檚 learning all the time. I might be good at looking calm, but that鈥檚 experience.鈥
Life has been unnerving over the past while, between the pandemic and war in Europe, and it鈥檚 important to know that it鈥檚 okay to be unsure, Aedamar adds.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter how senior you are, things don鈥檛 always go to plan. Success is failure turned around 鈥 I really believe that. That鈥檚 what people should really be admired and respected for 鈥 we learn a huge amount from our failures.鈥
I fought the law鈥
Juggling all the balls of family and career in the air is no doubt demanding. To relax, she watches Netflix and 鈥榝orces鈥 herself to go to the gym, because exercise gives her energy. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 do it because I love doing it; I do it for the effect. If I don鈥檛 exercise, I鈥檓 much more tired.鈥
In the difficult times, Aedamar Comiskey simply asks herself if she is doing her best, and tries to keep a positive outlook, rather than striving for perfection, which doesn鈥檛 exist. 鈥淚 have had times where I鈥檝e been very stressed and felt, 鈥業鈥檓 getting nothing right鈥. You can make yourself feel quite bad, but it鈥檚 totally a mindset. If I鈥檓 doing my best, then at the end of the day, I can鈥檛 do more than that.
鈥淏e proactive 鈥 you should be the most interested person in your own career, and your own life. Don鈥檛 wait for someone to tell you how to get on with it.鈥
Perseverance is also a virtue, she believes, and sometimes we give up too easily: 鈥淚f you want to get somewhere, keep trying. If it matters to you, keep going 鈥 just go for the top job!鈥 concludes this goal-oriented, driven, and highly impressive lawyer.
WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP: Applications are currently open for the Law Society鈥檚 Women in Leadership mentoring programme
Perhaps you have been inspired by this article to provide mentorship to a female lawyer or would like to sign up to be mentored? Female and male mentors are welcome to take part.
Mary Hallissey is a journalist at the Law Society Gazette.
Read and print a PDF of this article here.