Blake Lively Makes Eyebrow-Raising Legal Move Ahead Of Justin Baldoni Trial

Blake Lively has expanded her legal team ahead of her trial against Justin Baldoni by adding attorney Sigrid McCawley to handle public and media communications.

The case, involving allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation tied to "It Ends With Us," is set for May 2026, with the actress expected to testify.

Justin Baldoni has since denied the accusations and previously countersued. He has also claimed that Blake Lively requested meetings at her home office, which she allegedly calls "Buckingham Palace."

Lively has strengthened her legal lineup as her lawsuit against actor-director Justin Baldoni heads toward trial, bringing on prominent attorney Sigrid McCawley, according to People Magazine.

McCawley, a managing partner at Boies Schiller Flexner, will take the lead on public and media communications related to the case.

She is widely recognized for her work representing survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, including Virginia Giuffre, and for helping bring national attention to Epstein's abuse network.

"It is a privilege to get to work with Blake Lively's world-class legal team on a case that at its core is about a woman who was subjected to a hostile work environment and is being attacked for standing up to protect herself and other female co-workers," McCawley told the publication.

Lively continues to be represented by attorneys Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, who have been managing the legal strategy through months of heated discovery disputes, sealed documents, and subpoena fights as both sides prepare for trial in the Southern District of New York.

Gottlieb and Hudson praised McCawley's addition, saying, "We are thrilled that Sigrid has joined Blake's legal team in this important role, handling our public-facing communications.

We recruited Sigrid based on her many years of work speaking truth to power, including her courageous representation of Jeffrey Epstein's victims, and have no doubt her experience will serve the team well."

In addition to her past work, McCawley previously represented Leslie Sloane, Lively's publicist, after Baldoni filed a countersuit against her. That case was dismissed by Judge Lewis Liman in June 2025.

The timing of McCawley's arrival is notable, as the court is preparing to unseal more depositions, text messages, and other documents expected to play a major role in the dispute.

A key hearing is set for January 22, when the judge will consider Baldoni's motion for summary judgment, which seeks to dismiss some or all of Lively's claims before trial.

Originally slated for March, the trial has since been rescheduled for May 2026. During a May 2025 hearing, Gottlieb confirmed that Lively herself will testify.

"The ultimate moment for a plaintiff's story to be told is at trial," he said at the time. "We expect that to be the case here [with Lively]. So we would, of course, expect her to be a witness at her trial. Of course she's going to testify."

Baldoni's legal team was also expanded last fall with the addition of defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro, known for representing Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Lively first filed suit in December 2024, accusing Baldoni and others at Wayfarer Studios of sexual harassment and retaliation connected to her work on "It Ends With Us."

Baldoni denied the allegations and later countersued Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, for defamation and extortion, though those claims were ultimately dismissed by the court.

Separately, Baldoni has alleged that Lively referred to her home office as "Buckingham Palace" when requesting that "It Ends With Us" meetings be held there.

According to court records obtained by People, Baldoni claimed during a deposition on Monday, October 6, 2025, in Los Angeles.

In the deposition transcript, Baldoni described what he said was the nickname Lively and Reynolds used for their New York City at-home workspace.

"She used to call it Buckingham Palace, as she said, because so many celebrities walked through there," he testified. "I think that was her office in her penthouse apartment, which was the place that Ms. Lively requested all of our meetings be."

Lively's Manhattan residence has repeatedly surfaced in the closely watched case.

Baldoni has previously pointed to it as the location of a meeting where he claims Reynolds confronted him, alleging that the actor accused him of "fat-shaming" Lively during the production of "It Ends With Us."

It was at the same location that Baldoni allegedly encountered Lively's close pal, pop star Taylor Swift, whom he claimed was used to pressure him into agreeing with Lively's script changes.