In a strategic move ahead of her upcoming high-profile trial against actor and director Justin Baldoni, actress Blake Lively has added high-profile lawyer Sigrid McCawley to her defense team. McCawley is known for her work representing the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

McCawley, managing partner of the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner, will assume a key role handling public and media communications on the core issues of the case. In a statement quoted by Page Six, the attorney said: “It is a privilege 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 for herself and other female colleagues.” Lively's legal team, which also includes attorneys Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, welcomed the addition. In a statement to People, they emphasized: “We recruited Sigrid for her many years of work exposing power, including her courageous representation of Jeffrey Epstein's victims, and we have no doubt that her experience will be invaluable.” The Origins of the Conflict: The lawsuit dates back to December 2014, when Lively filed a complaint against Baldoni, her director on the film “It Ends With Us.” The actress accused him of sexual harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, inflicting emotional distress, invasion of privacy, and loss of wages. In response, Baldoni filed a $400 million countersuit not only against Lively, but also against her publicist, Leslie Sloane, and her husband, Ryan Reynolds. This lawsuit was dismissed at the end of 2025. It should be noted that McCawley had previously represented publicist Sloane in this same dispute. The legal process moves toward a crucial hearing on January 22, where the judge will hear arguments on Baldoni's motion for a summary judgment. With this maneuver, The director is seeking to have some or all of Lively's claims dismissed before the case goes to a jury. The trial, initially scheduled for March, is now set to begin in May 2026, making it one of the most closely watched legal battles in the entertainment industry.