Attorneys
Yield not to evils, but attack all the more boldly.
- Virgil, Aeneid
Jean-Paul is an Associate at Makarem & Associates who joined the firm in 2007. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Pepperdine University School of Law in 2006 and was a Dean’s Merit Scholarship recipient. Jean-Paul received the Witkin award for excellence in Torts, was an Associate Editor on the Pepperdine Law Review journal, and is a member of the Order of the Coif.
Since joining the firm, Jean-Paul has been the primary attorney in an increasingly diverse practice, including contract disputes, legal malpractice, pharmaceutical product liability, personal injury, and consumer protection class actions.
Most recently, Jean-Paul’s practice has focused on employment disputes, including wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, and wage & hour class actions. His performance in this area of law, including work as trial first chair in 2011, earned him recognition from his peers as a “SuperLawyer” Rising Star and a selection as one of The Recorder’s top 50 “Fast Track” lawyers, both in 2012.
Jean-Paul graduated from the University of California at San Diego in 2003 with a major in Political Science/Public Law, and a Minor in Management Science.
Jean-Paul was born and raised in Malibu, CA. Prior to joining Makarem & Associates, Jean-Paul worked as a clerk for the Honorable Haley J. Fromholz at the Los Angeles Superior Court and was a summer Associate at Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps, LLP in San Diego. Prior to entering law school, Jean-Paul clerked at Senator Barbara Boxer’s Los Angeles office, and was a Men’s and Women’s Varsity Water-Polo coach at Malibu High School.
Matthew J. Negrin is an Associate of Makarem & Associates who handles litigation and transactional matters for clients. Mr. Negrin represents clients before the State Courts of California, California Courts of Appeal, Federal Courts of California and other jurisdictions. Mr. Negrin also represents business client in matters such as incorporation and organization of business entities, corporate securities, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital financing and general corporate management.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Negrin represented companies and individuals in business litigation, real estate litigation, legal malpractice, entertainment, insurance and other related matters. Mr. Negrin also represented companies in corporate matters such as the purchase and sale of assets; mergers and other acquisitions; capital-raising transactions; formation of business entities; the preparation or review of business contracts; and day-to-day counseling on a variety of legal matters that affect businesses.
In addition, Mr. Negrin worked at a boutique securities defense firm representing broker-dealers, such as Ameriprise and ING, before the NASD (now FINRA), SEC, Federal and State Courts of California, and the State Courts of Florida in connection with customer disputes and regulatory actions. Mr. Negrin secured a $16 million judgment on behalf of a client at an NASD (now FINRA) arbitration hearing.
Prior to practicing law, Mr. Negrin was a certified public account with the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche. In the Fraud and Forensic Accounting Department, Mr. Negrin provided expertise to attorneys and corporations involving business-related issues, forensic accounting, financial fraud, corporate investigations, damage theories and computations, and due diligence. In the Audit Department, Mr. Negrin planned audit engagements, drafted financial statements, managed staff, prepared the budget, reviewed internal controls, and maintained client relations for clients such as Trust Company of the West, E*Trade, and the Daytime Emmy Awards.
Mr. Negrin is a member of the State Bars of California and Florida. Mr. Negrin graduated from the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University and from Loyola Law School, where he served as Technical Editor of the Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review.
Anthony H. Lupu hails from Montreal, Canada, where he obtained his undergraduate degree in English and Philosophy from Concordia University.
He moved to New York City in 1993 to attend law school, and received his Juris Doctor, with honors, from New York Law School in 1996. He moved to Los Angeles in 2005 with his wife.
Mr. Lupu is admitted to practice law in both New York State and California. He has extensive experience in litigation, having practiced in personal injury, business and real estate, and catastrophic injury litigation.
Recently, he attended the Traditional Trial Advocacy Project (T-TAP) program held by the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Through this program, he received certification to try misdemeanor criminal cases for prosecutorial agencies throughout Southern California, including the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office.
Anthony spends his free time bicycling and playing sports, including tennis, softball and ice hockey.
Sara Heum is an Attorney at Makarem & Associates. She graduated from USC Gould School of Law where she was a recipient of the Carl Mason Franklin Award in International Law and an AmJur award for excellence in International Sales of Goods. During law school, Ms. Heum participated in the Jessup International Moot Court Pacific Super Regional competition, reaching the quarterfinals and garnering awards for Best Oralist and Best Memorial. She interned at TMZ and an entertainment law firm, where she worked on copyright and media law issues. She also externed in United States Bankruptcy Court.
Ms. Heum graduated from UC Berkeley with High Distinction in General Scholarship. She was a Regents’ Scholar at Berkeley, the most prestigious scholarship in the University of California system. Prior to law school, Ms. Heum worked in the private and public sectors, including as a Program Analyst in the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training. Ms. Heum speaks Arabic and French.
