Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer co-founder and name partner Arved Deringer has died at the age of 98.

Deringer, one of the pioneers of European competition law and a former member of the European Parliament, passed away yesterday (25 October) in Stuttgart.

Born in what is now the Ukraine in 1913, Deringer passed the German Bar exam in 1942, and went on to serve in the German navy during the Second World War, spending time as a prisoner of war in France until 1947.

He started working as a lawyer in partnership with Alfred Gleiss in Stuttgart in 1953, becoming a name partner with EU, competition and media practice Gleiss Deringer Lutz.

In 1962, Deringer started a new firm in Bonn called Deringer & Tessin, which in 1967 became Deringer Tessin Herrman & Sedemund, with the practice subsequently relocating to Cologne.

Deringer remained a partner at the firm until 1992, when he became a consultant, leaving ahead of the firm's merger with Bruckhaus Westrick Heller Loeber and Freshfields, which created Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in 2000.

By the time of the merger, Deringer Tessin had grown to 90 lawyers across Cologne, Brussels, Berlin and Frankfurt.

In addition to his work with the law firm, Deringer was a member of the European Parliament from 1958 until 1970, including a spell as chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee, where he helped influence the development of European competition law.

Commenting on his death, Freshfields executive partner Stephan Eilers said: "Professor Deringer was a true pioneer of modern law who lived in a century of phenomenal socio-political change. His work significantly influenced European Competition law and EU law more generally.

He added: "He was a truly rounded personality – a lawyer, politician, entrepreneur and, above all else, a family man."

Deringer is survived by his wife Erika and their five children.

• Click here for more on the history of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer