Linklaters has elected its first female senior partner, meaning two of the five magic circle firms are now led by women. 

Aedamar Comiskey, currently the firm’s global head of corporate, will replace Charlie Jacobs on 1 July for a five-year term. Comiskey joined Linklaters as a trainee 29 years ago and was made partner in 2001.

Aedamar Comiskey

Corporate head Aedamar Comiskey will take over from Charlie Jacobs

‘I am hugely proud to have been elected the firm’s first female senior partner,’ Comiskey said. ‘I want 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. And as we launch out of lockdown, our focus will be on fostering drive, ambition and creativity from our high-performing teams across the world, to deliver outstanding results for our world-class clients.’

Comiskey ran along side two other female candidates: London corporate and M&A partner Sarah Wiggins and western Europe managing partner, Claudia Parzani.

The appointment marks an important moment for gender diversity in the City. Three top firms have elected their first female leaders this year, with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Herbert Smith Freehills appointing Georgia Dawson and Rebecca Maslen-Stannage respectively. 

There is still a large discrepancy in City pay, however. Earlier this year, Linklaters reported a mean gender pay gap for partners and employees of 62.9%, up from 62.6% in 2019. Meanwhile, the employee pay gap edged up from 19.5% to 20.7%.