Clifford Chance (CC) and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have elected new management for their German practices.

Freshfields has named its global employment, pensions and benefits head Klaus-Stefan Hohenstatt as the new managing partner for Germany, Austria and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), with the appointment effective 1 September.

He will replace Duesseldorf-based corporate partner Manfred Finken who has served two terms at the helm, having first been appointed in 2004.

Freshfields has also appointed City partner Nick Squire as the new head of the global employment group from 1 November to replace Hohenstatt in the role.

Meanwhile, CC has elected its first new German managing partner since 2002.

German corporate head Andreas Dietzel will succeed incumbent Hans-Josef Schneider at the end of the year for a four-year term. The firm has appointed Arndt Stengel to take over the leadership of the German corporate group.

Dietzel, who is based in Frankfurt, has been head of German corporate since 2002 and he also heads CC's global industrials sector group.

He said: "I would like to thank the partners for the trust they have placed in me. Market changes create opportunities for those law firms prepared to take the initiative. As a result, in the current environment, I see significant potential for Clifford Chance to further expand its market position."

CC has also re-elected its Munich managing partner Patrick Biagosch while local banking and capital markets practice group head Josef Brinkhaus and tax head Riko Vanezis were also handed new terms.