Blake Lively’s legal team is expanding as her lawsuit against Justin Baldoni moves closer to trial.
Us Weekly can confirm Lively, 38, has hired attorney Sigrid McCawley, who is a longtime advocate for Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, including Virginia Giuffre.
“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 coworkers,” McCawley said in a statement to Us on Friday, January 16.
McCawley’s primary role will be handling communications with the public and the media on key matters related to Lively’s case against Baldoni, 41. (People was first to report the news.)
Lively will continue to be represented by attorneys Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, who have worked with the Gossip Girl actress for months while navigating subpoena battles, pretrial hearings and more.
“We are thrilled that Sigrid has joined Blake’s legal team in this important role handling our public-facing communications,” Gottlieb and Hudson said in a statement to Us. “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.”
Lively’s legal battle against Baldoni began in December 2024 when she sued her It Ends With Us costar and director for sexual harassment. According to the suit, Baldoni’s alleged behavior caused Lively “severe emotional distress.”
After Lively filed her lawsuit, Baldoni’s lawyer addressed the actress’ “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious” accusations in a statement to Us, claiming that she was trying to “fix her negative reputation” and “rehash a narrative” regarding the film’s production.
Baldoni filed his own lawsuit against Lively in January 2025. The case, however, was dismissed six months later.
While the trial was initially slated to begin in a New York courtroom in March 2026, a judge previously announced that it will now be tried starting on May 18, 2026.
Although a judge advised both parties to consider settling the case before a trial begins, both Lively and Baldoni’s teams appeared ready to have their day in court when they marked one year of the legal battle in December 2025.
“Over the past year, Blake has persevered against a billionaire-financed effort to try to ‘bury’ her, her family and businesses through retaliatory lawsuits and a relentless media and digital campaign,” Lively’s attorneys Hudson and Gottlieb said in a statement to Us at the time. “With their retaliatory lawsuits dismissed and only her claims set for trial in May, Ms. Lively is more determined than ever to shine a light on the forces that work behind the scenes to silence and discredit women who dare speak up.”
Baldoni’s team released a separate statement expressing hopes that the “truth” will win.
“My clients are deeply grateful for the support and kind words they’ve received over the past year,” Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman said in a statement to Us. “We trust that the truth will ultimately prevail, and the care that so many have shown has been a meaningful source of strength during an incredibly challenging time.”
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