Penelope Warne today takes up the role of Senior Partner at law firm CMS

Penelope Warne takes on her new role as Senior Partner at CMS Cameron McKenna today. Penelope is the firm's first female senior partner and the only female senior partner in the top 20 global and the top 20 UK law firms. CMS, the world’s tenth largest global law firm [1], has over 800 partners and 5,600 employees operating in 57 offices.

Penelope, an oil and gas specialist, joined the firm in 1993 to set up the Aberdeen office. In twenty years, she will have transformed CMS' practice in Scotland from one person in Aberdeen to be the largest market leading practice in Scotland due to the recently announced merger with Dundas & Wilson.

As leader of the Energy practice group, Penelope has a strong growth track record and has 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 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 Warne comments: “I have two key priorities. The first is to ensure our clients get really exceptional legal services. The second is to promote a dynamic and supportive culture so that the careers of our lawyers and all our employees can thrive.”

Duncan Weston, Managing Partner, comments: “Our energy practice has given us two inspirational female partners, Fiona Woolf who is now the Lord Mayor of London and Penelope Warne, our new Senior Partner. Both Penelope and Fiona are trailblazers who have achieved exceptional things for our firm and for the wider legal and energy industries. I am looking forward to working with Penelope in leading the firm forward. She will help our clients and our firm flourish with her determination and global outlook.”

^{[1] As of 1 May 2014 when the merger with Dundas & Wilson completes}