Taylor Wessing has appointed Andreas Meissner as its new Germany managing partner.

A leading IP partner, Meissner has taken over from Florian Ranft with immediate effect, with the latter becoming the head of the firm's German-based China group just a year after he took on the German managing partner role.

Meissner, who has been elected for a four-year term, will also take up a place on the firm's international management board. He has also appointed four new members to the management board in Germany. These are: Oliver Klock for the real estate, regulatory and competition group; Robert Wethmar for the corporate, finance and tax group; Olaf Franz for the commercial, litigation and employment group; and Thomas Rabb for the IP/IT group.

Meissner said: "The new management clearly stands for a continuation of the strategy initiated in 2010. Our orientation will be definitely international, focusing on conglomerates, large medium-sized companies, financial institutions, and enterprises in the public sector. We offer both longstanding industrial expertise and top-quality advice from experienced partners. All our activities are characterised by a single guiding principle: we are experts in the industries in which we advise."

Ranft, who was instrumental in establishing Taylor Wessing's Chinese offices in Shanghai in 1996 and Beijing in 2008, will continue to be based in Germany but will spend an increasing amount of time travelling to China.

Commenting on his new role, he said: "As International Head of the China Group I will be using my longstanding China expertise and networking contacts to effectively contribute to an optimal utilisation by Taylor Wessing of the associated opportunities for future growth."