Family law attorney dies at 50

Last edited 3 p.m., April 22, 2014

Attorney James Sharp died April 16 in Republic. He was 50.

Sharp was a partner in Springfield law firm Sharp & Bredesen, 300 S. John Q. Hammons Parkway, Ste. 104, which has largely practiced family law since 1988. Sharp devoted 70 percent of his time to family law, 20 percent to litigation and appeals and 10 percent to other areas, according to Sharp-Bredesen.com.

Firm partner Karsten Bredesen, the only other attorney listed on the company's website, was unavailable for comment by deadline this morning. Melanie Richards, office manager with the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association, which announced Sharp's death in a notice to its members yesterday, said via email the cause of his death is currently undetermined.

Memorial services are scheduled 10 a.m. April 23 at Gorman Scharpf Funeral Home, 1947 E. Seminole St., according to the release.

A member of the Missouri Bar Association, Sharp earned his bachelor's degree from Drury University in 1985 and his juris doctor from the University of Missouri School of Law in 1988, according to his obituary posted online at the funeral home's website.