Member Profiles

Penelope Warne is The Senior Partner and Chairman of the UK Board. She is also Head of Energy. Penelope, an oil and gas specialist, joined the firm in 1993 to set up the Aberdeen office and has a strong growth track record. In 25 years, she has transformed CMS’ practice in Scotland from one person in Aberdeen to the market leading practice in Scotland due to the combination with Dundas & Wilson in 2014. As the Energy practice group leader, she opened offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Brazil, Mexico and Dubai. Her practice spans the globe advising clients in the oil and gas industry in the North Sea, the US, Norway, Brazil, EMEA and Russia. Penelope is at the cutting edge of oil industry issues, she is active in thought leadership and trains oil industry lawyers in her role as an Honorary Fellow and Trustee of the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy at Dundee University. She is also a member of the Foundation Board at IMD, the highly acclaimed international business school based in Lausanne, Switzerland. CMS runs its Partner Induction Programme in conjunction with IMD and also runs a scholarship programme for associates to secure places on IMD’s Building on Talent programme. Penelope is ranked as a Leading Energy Expert in both Chambers and Legal 500. She was also ranked in “The Sunday Times Britain’s 500 Most Influential” in 2015 and also in 2016 as one of only 20 in the law category, and was recognised as a leading innovative individual by the Financial Times in 2015. She was awarded 'Best in Energy, Natural Resources and Mining' at Euromoney's Europe Women in Business Law Awards in 2012 and 2013, and has been recognised in The Lawyer's Hot 100. Penelope works globally with governments, energy industry specialists and academics and is a member of the Oxford University Vice Chancellor's Circle. Penelope is a great supporter of Diversity & Inclusion and is proud to lead the fundraising in her firm for War Child, who provide safe havens and education for children in war zones.

Edite Ligere’s practice focuses on the regulation of artificial intelligence, global financial regulation, banking, insurance, human rights, consumer protection, charity law, data protection, machine learning and cyber security.

John was previously managing partner at Pinsent Masons and Legal Advisor to the British Franchise Association for six years. He is the author of the leading textbook, "Franchising: Law & Practice", a contributor to the franchising chapter of ‘’Practical Commercial Precedents’‘ and a contributor to American Bar Association’s publication – A Practical Guide for International Franchising – Competition Laws and Data Privacy. Acknowledged by Legal Who‘s Who as an expert in international franchising, a past president of the Union Internationale des Avocats franchise committee, past Chair of the International Bar Association’s international franchise committee and Director of the American Bar Association’s International Franchise Division and a frequent lecturer on franchise issues both in the UK and elsewhere. John was previously Honorary French Consul, President of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and a member of the board of the British Chambers of Commerce. He is currently a director of a number of companies including The Bardon Group, a multi-brand company incorporating well known franchise brands such as Recognition Express and Kall-Kwik. John has expertise in the following areas: Preparing franchise agreements and related agreements such as confidentiality agreements and deposit agreements; Advising on competition law issues (both EU and UK); Advising on international franchising matters including the preparation of master franchise agreements and reviewing foreign franchise agreements to ensure compliance with UK mandatory legal requirements and custom and practice; Advising on franchise disputes; and Preparing reviews of franchise agreements for prospective franchisees. Interests: supporting Gloucester Rugby (and hoping that it returns to its glory days!) and collecting British Portraits (much to the annoyance of his wife!). Additional languages: French (fluent).

John was previously managing partner at Pinsent Masons and Legal Advisor to the British Franchise Association for six years. He is the author of the leading textbook, "Franchising: Law & Practice", a contributor to the franchising chapter of ‘’Practical Commercial Precedents’‘ and a contributor to American Bar Association’s publication – A Practical Guide for International Franchising – Competition Laws and Data Privacy. Acknowledged by Legal Who‘s Who as an expert in international franchising, a past president of the Union Internationale des Avocats franchise committee, past Chair of the International Bar Association’s international franchise committee and Director of the American Bar Association’s International Franchise Division and a frequent lecturer on franchise issues both in the UK and elsewhere. John was previously Honorary French Consul, President of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and a member of the board of the British Chambers of Commerce. He is currently a director of a number of companies including The Bardon Group, a multi-brand company incorporating well known franchise brands such as Recognition Express and Kall-Kwik. John has expertise in the following areas: Preparing franchise agreements and related agreements such as confidentiality agreements and deposit agreements; Advising on competition law issues (both EU and UK); Advising on international franchising matters including the preparation of master franchise agreements and reviewing foreign franchise agreements to ensure compliance with UK mandatory legal requirements and custom and practice; Advising on franchise disputes; and Preparing reviews of franchise agreements for prospective franchisees. Interests: supporting Gloucester Rugby (and hoping that it returns to its glory days!) and collecting British Portraits (much to the annoyance of his wife!). Additional languages: French (fluent).

His specialist subject is crisis management, specifically dealing with the media and handling regulators following serious incidents. He works across the Construction/Infrastructure, Insurance, Road haulage, Food, Oil and Gas sectors providing expertise in health and safety regulation as well as compliance training and audits. Steffan has been at DWF for 14 years and works on a national basis. In his role as Head of Regulatory he leads the firm's Crisis Response Service, which is designed to provide clients with a legal service incorporating media advice and employee well-being. This aims to protect clients' reputations when they are in the middle of a crisis situation. He is commended in the Legal 500 directory and in Chambers and Partners (2012) as 'Best in UK'. Chambers also states that I have an "exceptional legal mind," while maintaining a "calm and understated manner." He chairs the UK Health and Safety Lawyers Association which results in my being asked to attend Select committee hearing, speak at national conferences and liaise with governmental advisors on policy development. Steffan has worked on many ground breaking precedent setting cases, in particular R v HTM, R v Porter and R v Lion Steel. As well as trying to look after his clients to the very best of his ability, Steffan also enjoys cycling and horse riding, recently trying his hand at polo and drag hunting!